Chapter 6 - Nathan's Price
Nathan Price disappeared for thirty-six hours.
His office claimed he was attending a conference.
His wife told investigators he had gone to work and never returned.
Helen obtained a protective order barring the destruction of business records while the court considered further remedies.
The formal language was reassuring.
It did nothing to ease the memory of Nathan's voice.
When he finally called again, he asked to meet at a crowded diner off the interstate.
Helen insisted on joining me.
Nathan sat near the back exit, untouched pancakes turning cold in front of him.
He looked older than he had on the video.
“My father trusted you,” I said as I sat down.
Nathan didn't correct me.
He took a breath and told us that Hayes Development had struggled under loans hidden from shareholders.
My father had used future rent from the commercial properties as if he already owned them.
When lenders demanded proof of control, he needed paperwork.
The forgery was not the beginning.
It was an attempt to conceal earlier unauthorized pledges.
“My signature is on several of those documents,” Nathan admitted.
“Did you forge them?” Helen asked.
“I signed certifications I knew were false.”
There was no heroic confession in his voice.
Only exhaustion.
He described the missing footage.
During those six minutes, my mother entered carrying a sealed blue folder.
She threatened to expose a private agreement between my grandfather and Samuel unless Richard gave her direct control over the family trust accounts.
“What agreement?” I asked.
Nathan looked toward the diner windows.
“I never saw it.”
He explained that Eleanor had used Samuel's old account to retrieve files from the estate's document archive after his death.
She knew the man's credentials were still active because no one had disabled them.
I pictured her at a desk, quietly opening the records of someone I'd watched die.
“Why are you telling me now?”
“Because Richard is blaming me for the entire scheme.”
“And because you're afraid of prison,” Helen added.
Nathan nodded.
We asked whether he would provide a sworn statement and surrender his records to investigators.
He agreed on the condition that his attorney be present.
Helen told him she could not promise immunity.
He almost smiled.
“I stopped believing in promises when I started working for Richard.”
As we stood to leave, Nathan grabbed my arm.
“One thing wasn't in the recording.”
He lowered his voice.
“Your grandfather altered the trust weeks before he died.”
“I know he left it to me.”
“No,” Nathan whispered.
“He added a provision about Samuel's death.”
I went cold.
“What provision?”
Nathan pushed a folded paper into my hand.
It was a reference to a sealed court deposit.
File H-17.
Then he stood and walked out through the kitchen exit.
May you like
Across the street, a black sedan started its engine.
