My Family Sold Me For $7 Million. I Owned Their Building Chapter 06
The guards released me as if I had become electrified.
No one spoke.
Chloe’s smile froze. She stared at Adrian, then at me.
“You must have the wrong person. What do you mean, landlord? She’s a farm girl from a dying town. Those papers cost five dollars apiece at a print shop.”
She rushed toward Adrian and reached for the document.
Ethan stepped between them.
“Step back, please.”
Adrian handed the document jacket to me.
I wiped Chloe’s shoe print from the cover with my sleeve.
“Hawthorne Tower One, Midtown Manhattan.”
I opened the certified deed copy and held it in front of Chloe.
“Read the grantee and the trust certification attached behind it. Avery Monroe, sole beneficiary and controlling trustee. You claim to know New York society. Can you tell a City Register certification from something made at a copy shop?”
Chloe stared at the name. Her eyes trembled. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
Then she looked at Diane.
Our mother backed into the arm of a chair.
Victor swallowed and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“How is that possible? Hawthorne Global’s headquarters were supposed to belong to a private international investment group.”
“Ethan,” Adrian said.
Ethan opened his case and placed several documents in front of Richard and Victor.
“This is Hawthorne Global’s ten-year master lease with the Avery Monroe Property Trust. Ms. Monroe is its sole beneficiary and controlling trustee. She is also the ultimate beneficial owner of Northstar Capital, the international group you mentioned.”
Richard’s hands shook as he opened the lease.
My signature appeared at the bottom, along with quarterly rent of forty million dollars.
His knees gave way, and he fell into a chair.
“Impossible,” he whispered. “You grew up upstate. How could you have this much money?”
I bent down, gathered several title jackets, and dropped them onto the table one at a time.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
“This is the South Harbor parcel.”
“This is the mansion where the three of you live.”
“And this one is the retail complex you pledged to obtain Monroe Holdings’ original startup loan.”
With every document, Richard’s face turned a shade grayer.
“Before Grandpa died, he transferred every essential asset into trusts for my sole benefit. He appointed independent professionals to administer them until I came of age because he had already figured out that you were incompetent.”
I pulled out a chair and sat.
“After I turned eighteen, Grandma helped me review acquisitions from upstate while professional managers handled the buildings. The place you called a worthless little town was simply where I kept the original closing files for my real estate portfolio.”
Victor drew in a sharp breath. His manner changed instantly.
“Avery, this has all been a misunderstanding. I was only joking before. About the rescue financing…”
“You wanted the South Harbor parcel as collateral, correct?”
He nodded quickly.
“Yes. If you approve the lien, we can settle everything.”
“I donated that parcel to an upstate children’s home yesterday. They’re building a new school on it. If you want the land, take it up with the charitable foundation.”
The flesh around Victor’s jaw twitched.
Chloe rushed at the table and swept several title jackets onto the floor.
“They’re fake. Every one of them is fake. She paid this assistant to lie. Mr. Hawthorne has been deceived.”
She pointed at me.
“You think staging one little performance will make you important? The Monroe family will never accept you.”
Adrian took out his phone and handed it to Ethan.
“Tell the financial crimes investigators downstairs that they can come up.”
His voice was quiet, but every person heard him.
“They already have Daniel’s sworn complaint about Monroe Holdings. Send them our original letterhead samples and the forged letter of intent. Ask them to add the two Warren Group subsidiaries to their review.”
Victor’s legs buckled. He dropped to his knees.
“Adrian, please. Have mercy.”