Chapter 9: What 2014 Left Behind
Adrian called Raymond that evening.
"She mentioned 2014," Adrian said.
"Before she left.
She said there are things about how the properties were acquired.
Things my father never told me."
Raymond was quiet on the other end for a moment.
"I was wondering if she'd use that," he said.
"Is it true?"
"Partly," Raymond said.
"Sit down."
Adrian sat.
"In 2014, your father was in a difficult position financially.
Not publicly — publicly everything looked fine.
But privately, there was a cash flow problem.
A large project had stalled and a significant amount of capital was tied up.
He needed liquidity quickly and quietly."
"What did he do?"
"He sold two properties from the secondary portfolio.
Below market value.
To a buyer who could move fast and ask no questions." Raymond paused.
"The buyer was a man with connections your father would not have wanted associated with his name.
The sale was legal.
But the relationship was not something your father was proud of."
"Who was the buyer?"
Raymond told him.
Adrian didn't recognize the name.
But Mr.
Holt, when Adrian relayed it the next morning, went very still.
"I know that name," Mr.
Holt said carefully.
"How?"
"He was investigated in 2017.
Financial crjme.
The case was eventually dropped, but there were questions about several property transactions in that period." Mr.
Holt looked at Adrian.
"If your father's name appeared in those records—"
"Would it damage the estate?"
"Potentially.
Depending on what the records show." Mr.
Holt set down his pen.
"But Adrian — this is what Vanessa wanted.
She wanted you to pull on this thread and get frightened.
She wanted you worried about your father's reputation so that you'd back away from the case against her."
Adrian thought about that.
"Is the connection actually damaging?" he asked.
"Or just uncomfortable?"
Mr.
Holt considered.
"Based on what Raymond described — a below-market property sale in a cash-flow emergency — it's uncomfortable.
It's not criminal.
Your father was the seller, not a partner.
The association is awkward, not incriminating."
"So she gave me something that looks like a weapon but isn't one."
"That's my assessment, yes."
Adrian leaned back in his chair.
He thought about his father.
A man he had admired without ever fully knowing.
A man who had built something carefully and quietly and then, in the last years of his life, had made decisions in rooms Adrian was never invited into.
He thought about the trust.
Eight properties, held back for him.
Passed over the heads of lawyers and uncles and complications.
A quiet gift from a father who didn't always explain himself but who, in the end, had tried to protect what mattered.
"Leave 2014 alone," Adrian said.
"It's not relevant to what we're filing."
Mr.
Holt nodded.
"Agreed."
"Focus on Vanessa.
The transfers.
The trust document.
Raymond's statement."
"The case is strong," Mr.
Holt said.
"Very strong.
Stafford knows it.
That's why he tried to negotiate yesterday."
"What are the likely outcomes?"
"Civil judgment for the full amount of the transfers.
Possible crjminal referral depending on how the DA looks at the trust document — the attempted transfer was fraudulent.
At minimum, she loses any claim to marital assets.
The prenuptial agreement you signed covers the main estate.
She came in with nothing and she'll leave with nothing."
Adrian was quiet.
"The properties," he said.
"The trust.
Are they secure?"
"Raymond's statement confirms the transfer document was never filed.
The trust is intact.
All eight properties remain in your name." Mr.
Holt looked at him.
"Your father's gift to you is safe."
Adrian looked at the window.
He thought about his father sitting in a room with Raymond Lau, quietly building something that would outlast him.
Protecting his son from people he couldn't name yet.
From problems he could only anticipate.
He hadn't been able to protect him from everything.
But he had tried.
"Thank you," Adrian said.
Not to Mr.
Holt.
To the room.
To the quiet.
Mr.
Holt gave him a moment.
Then: "There's one more thing.
Stafford called this morning.
Vanessa is prepared to make a full settlement offer.
She returns the sixty-one thousand, signs a full release, and agrees to no further claims.
In exchange, you agree not to pursue the crjminal referral."
Adrian looked at him.
"What do you recommend?"
"I recommend you take twenty-four hours before you decide."
Adrian nodded.
"Give me the night."
He drove home in the early evening.
The house was quieter than it had been in months.
Mrs.
Chen had made dinner.
Lily was at the kitchen table doing homework, her pencil moving steadily across the page.
Olivia was on the sofa reading.
Adrian stood in the doorway for a moment and looked at the three of them.
Mrs.
Chen glanced up.
She saw his face.
"Sit down," she said.
May you like
"Eat something."
He sat down.
