Chapter 4 - THE BUILDING DANIEL PRETENDED NOT TO REMEMBER
Claire left the mansion that night.
Not because Daniel ordered her out.
Because she no longer wanted to sleep under the same roof.
She stayed at a hotel in Irvine and called her attorney, Rachel Kim, the next morning.
Rachel had handled Claire’s father’s trust for years.
Claire told her everything.
The slap.
The purse.
Evelyn’s threat.
Daniel’s reaction to the second property document.
Rachel did not immediately talk about divorce.
She asked:
“Are you safe?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want contact with Daniel right now?”
“No.”
“Then keep communication written.”
Claire agreed.
Her cheek was swollen.
She photographed it.
She also wrote down exactly who had been in the foyer.
No one needed a secret camera.
There were witnesses.
Then they turned to finances.
The Irvine building had originally been Claire’s father’s largest property.
A two-story light-industrial structure with offices and warehouse space.
After Thomas died, Claire inherited it through Reed Property Holdings.
Mercer Architectural Fixtures moved there six years earlier under a commercial lease.
The rent was deliberately below market.
Claire agreed because Daniel’s business was still recovering.
Daniel signed the lease.
Evelyn had once attended the office opening.
There was no legitimate way Daniel could have forgotten who owned the building.
Yet his reaction in the foyer had been more than embarrassment.
Claire asked Rachel to review the lease.
An hour later Rachel called.
“There’s been an amendment.”
Claire frowned.
“What amendment?”
“Executed nine months ago.”
“I didn’t sign an amendment.”
“That’s the problem.”
A document had been submitted to a lender claiming Mercer Architectural Fixtures possessed a long-term purchase option on the property.
If valid, it could materially increase the company’s apparent asset stability.
Claire’s signature appeared on it.
It looked real.
It was not.
Her stomach turned.
“Who received it?”
“Pacific Commerce Bank.”
That was Mercer Architectural Fixtures’ lender.
Claire closed her eyes.
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Daniel had not merely been pretending socially that Claire’s property was his.
He may have been using it financially.
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