Chapter 9: Matthew's Last Card
Matthew met us at Grace's office the following morning.
He had a folder.
He set it on the conference table without preamble and opened it to the first page.
"When my team was reviewing the Harborstone transfer chain," he said, "they flagged a third name.
Not Mara.
Not Daniel Osei.
Someone earlier."
Grace leaned forward.
"How much earlier?"
"Seven years before the Harborstone project.
Before Grant founded Harrow Urban." Matthew turned the folder toward us.
"His first business.
A small development partnership called Aldgate Group.
Two partners — Grant and a man named Paul Sefton.
Sefton put in the majority of the startup capital.
The partnership dissolved after eighteen months."
"What happened to Sefton's capital?" Grace asked.
"According to the dissolution filing, it was returned in full.
According to Paul Sefton—" Matthew paused, "—he received approximately forty cents on the dollar and was told the rest had been lost in a failed land acquisition."
"Was it?" I asked.
"No." Matthew turned to the next page.
"The land acquisition closed.
It was sold at a profit two years later under a different entity name.
Pryce's firm handled the title transfer."
The room was very quiet.
"Grant has been doing this since before Harrow Urban existed," Grace said.
"Pryce has been helping him since before Harrow Urban existed," Matthew said.
"Paul Sefton is seventy-one years old.
He lives in Vermont.
He never knew what happened to his money." He looked at me.
"He does now.
My team reached him yesterday.
He wants to speak with you."
I looked at Grace.
"He's outside the civil statute of limitations," she said carefully.
"His claim is complicated."
"I know," Matthew said.
"But he's not outside the bar complaint window for Pryce.
And his account establishes the pattern going back further than any of us knew." He closed the folder.
"I'm not asking you to carry his case.
I'm asking whether you're willing to speak with him."
"Yes," I said.
"Of course."
Grace nodded slowly.
"Matthew — why are you doing this?
Your firm found the irregularity in due diligence.
You could have walked away from the joint venture, protected yourself, and let the rest of it alone."
Matthew was quiet for a moment.
He looked at the folder.
"My wife invested in a business with a man she trusted twenty years ago," he said.
"The man was a friend.
He restructured the company, diluted her interest to nothing, and sold it for eight million dollars.
She got a letter saying her shares had been administratively cancelled due to non-payment of a fee she had never been notified of." He looked up.
"She never recovered what she lost.
The man is still in business.
Still respected." He paused.
"I know what it looks like when someone has built a system for taking from people who trust them.
I recognize the shape of it."
No one said anything for a moment.
Then Grace picked up her pen.
"I want Paul Sefton's full account in a sworn statement," she said.
"And I want it filed before Grant's attorneys file their next motion."
She looked at me.
"This is going to get loud," she said.
"The AG's office called me this morning.
They're opening a formal inquiry."
May you like
My hands were steady on the table.
"Good," I said.
