Chapter 7 - A GHOST FROM THE PAST
His name was Harold Vance.
At least that was the name the Bennett family had known.
George Bennett had trusted Harold with everything.
Business contracts.
Estate planning.
Adoption paperwork.
Then, six years earlier, Harold supposedly died in a boating accident.
No body was ever recovered.
“He stole from our father,” Daniel said that evening.
They had moved inside Mrs. Delgado’s laundromat after reporters flooded the street.
“How much?” Shiomara asked.
“Almost eight million,” Marcus replied.
Maya crossed her arms.
“We suspected it. Could never prove it.”
“And now he’s working with Kane?”
“We don’t know.”
Shiomara rubbed her temples.
“This started with rice and beans.”
Marcus gave a tired laugh.
“That’s our family specialty. Nothing stays simple.”
Daniel’s phone buzzed.
A message.
Unknown number.
STOP THE PURCHASE OR THE WOMAN LOSES EVERYTHING.
Attached was a photograph.
Shiomara’s apartment building.
Taken that afternoon.
Maya went pale.
“Call security.”
Shiomara stared at the picture.
“No.”
Daniel looked at her.
“No?”
“If somebody wants to scare me, let them look me in the face.”
“Shiomara, this isn’t—”
“I know exactly what this is.”
She stood.
“My landlord has been trying to push tenants out for months. Kane owns half the debt on that building, doesn’t he?”
Daniel’s attorney checked.
Then nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
Shiomara laughed without humor.
“So he already had leverage.”
Daniel stood.
“You’re not going home alone.”
“I’ve lived alone for twenty years.”
“Tonight is different.”
The old stubbornness in his voice reminded Shiomara of the twelve-year-old boy under the bridge.
She almost smiled.
“You always this bossy?”
“Pretty much.”
Marcus said, “He was unbearable at thirteen.”
For one moment, the tension broke.
Then glass shattered outside.
Everyone ducked.
A brick crashed through the laundromat window.
Wrapped around it was a piece of paper.
Maya picked it up carefully.
Four words.
TAKE THE MONEY. LEAVE.
Shiomara stared at it.
“What money?”
Daniel’s attorney looked uncomfortable.
“What?”
The attorney opened his laptop.
“There was a transfer made to Ms. Reyes’s account this afternoon.”
Shiomara frowned.
“What transfer?”
“Two hundred fifty thousand dollars.”
Her mouth fell open.
“I don’t have two hundred fifty thousand dollars.”
“According to the bank, you do.”
Daniel’s face hardened.
“Someone’s trying to make it look like she took a payoff.”
Maya whispered, “Or a bribe.”
Shiomara felt sick.
“My account will show who sent it.”
The attorney clicked.
Then froze.
“What?”
He turned the screen toward them.
The sender was listed as…
REYES COMMUNITY HOLDINGS.
Shiomara stared.
“I’ve never heard of that company.”
Daniel slowly looked up.
“I have.”
The room went silent.
“It was created twenty-seven years ago.”
“By who?”
May you like
Daniel swallowed.
“Our adoptive father.”
