Chapter 4 - THE BUYER WHO DIDN’T EXIST ON PAPER FOR LONG
The LLC was called Lakefront Residential Acquisitions.
It had been formed seven weeks earlier.
Registered agent:
A commercial filing service.
Manager:
Not listed publicly.
Nothing illegal about that.
Plenty of legitimate companies use registered agents and private ownership.
Richard’s investigator traced the mailing address through transaction paperwork.
Suite 410.
Paige’s sister, Monica Bell, ran a bookkeeping business from Suite 412.
Close.
Not the same.
I nearly accused her anyway.
Richard stopped me.
“Address proximity is not ownership.”
Good.
We kept looking.
The purchase agreement listed a contact email.
No name.
The earnest-money deposit came from an account at First Midwest Business Bank.
No owner information available to us casually.
Then Mom remembered something.
“Paige asked me whether the building allowed rentals.”
“When?”
“Maybe two months ago.”
“Why?”
“She said if I ever moved, renting might be smarter than selling.”
I wrote it down.
Grant had also asked about condo-association rental rules.
Different conversation.
Same period.
Why?
Mom’s building capped rentals at twenty percent of units.
Currently full.
If Lakefront bought the condo intending to rent it, that could matter.
Unless somebody planned to occupy it.
Then Monica called me.
Paige’s sister.
I had not contacted her.
“Daniel.”
“What?”
“I heard something happened with Margaret.”
“How?”
“Paige called.”
“Of course.”
Monica sounded uncomfortable.
“She says you're accusing her of stealing an apartment.”
“Did she tell you Mom was tied to a chair?”
Silence.
“No.”
“Then you don't have the whole story.”
Monica exhaled.
“I think I have another piece.”
My heart started pounding.
“What?”
“Lakefront.”
I said nothing.
Monica continued:
“My firm set up the books.”
“For whom?”
“Grant.”
There it was.
Not Paige.
Grant.
My brother had formed the buyer entity.
“Why?”
“He said he was buying an investment condo from family.”
“With what money?”
“I don't know exactly.”
Monica’s firm handled basic bookkeeping, not financing.
Then she added:
“Paige asked me to help set up the accounting because she said Margaret wanted the transfer kept simple.”
I closed my eyes.
“Did Paige say Mom agreed?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever speak to Mom?”
“No.”
Monica’s voice changed.
“I should have.”
Maybe.
But she had been given a normal-sounding business request.
No obvious crime in opening books for an LLC.
“What was the purchase price?”
“Three twenty-five.”
I sat upright.
Mom’s condo was worth closer to four twenty.
Maybe more.
Grant planned to buy his mother’s apartment at least $90,000 below likely market value.
“Did Paige know that?”
“Yes.”
“Did Grant?”
“Obviously.”
“Did Mom?”
Monica whispered:
“I thought she did.”
There was the phrase everyone kept using.
I thought.
I thought Mom agreed.
I thought Paige had authority.
I thought Grant was buying legitimately.
Every assumption moved in one direction.
Toward taking control from Margaret.
I ended the call and looked at Richard.
“Grant is the buyer.”
He nodded.
“That explains the address clue partly.”
“No.”
I stared at the purchase price.
“It explains the transaction.”
The motive was still missing.
Grant did not have $325,000.
His business was struggling.
So somebody had arranged financing.
May you like
And if Paige had been helping, I needed to understand whether my wife was protecting my brother…
or financing him for a reason of her own.
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