Chapter 5 - The Investors at Nine
The first investor was Caleb Frost.
The second was Mason Reed.
They were not criminals.
That disappointed Gavin more than anything else.
Miriam contacted their attorney after learning Macon Ridge Development had circulated a property package showing Apex acreage as company owned.
The attorney responded immediately.
His clients believed title was legitimate.
Their meeting with Gavin had been preliminary.
No funds had closed.
Good.
Then we obtained the investor deck through discovery connected to title dispute.
Page one:
MACON RIDGE LOGISTICS SITE.
Twenty three acres.
Access to planned industrial corridor.
Projected acquisition basis:
$240,000.
Projected developer exit:
$760,000 to $950,000 depending zoning.
I stared.
“Two forty?”
Mom’s latest appraisal was nearly $487,000.
Miriam nodded.
“They expected Macon Ridge had acquired below market.”
“From Mom?”
“The deck says distressed family transaction.”
My hands clenched.
Loretta was not distressed.
She owned land outright.
Minimal taxes.
No mortgage.
Then slide:
Seller elderly, motivated by health and estate simplification.
That was my mother.
Reduced to a negotiation weakness.
Then:
Title secured prior to capital meeting.
Recorded deed.
Exactly.
Gavin needed recorded title before investors arrived.
That explained why 8:36 mattered.
Then one slide:
Use of investor capital.
$150,000 development costs.
$100,000 repayment of sponsor advances.
$200,000 acquisition reimbursement.
Sponsor advances.
Whose?
Gavin.
Harriet.
Maybe.
Then Caleb gave a statement.
Gavin told them his mother owned land through family transfer.
Which mother?
Harriet.
“He said Mrs. Vance recently acquired it from a distant relative.”
My stomach twisted.
Distant relative.
Loretta.
My mother.
Then Mason remembered something.
At nine fifteen, Gavin appeared distracted.
His lip? no, Samantha had split lip. His knuckles maybe after assault? Let's keep he wore long sleeve and seemed tense. Not relevant.
Harriet attended.
She said:
“The previous owner passed unexpectedly overnight, so we need to be sensitive if questions arise.”
Caleb asked:
“Does death affect title?”
Harriet answered:
“No. Transfer was completed before.”
There.
She knew exactly why timing mattered.
Then Gavin told investors:
“My wife is dealing with family grief, so please route all questions through me.”
They believed Samantha knew transaction.
One investor even said:
“I’m sorry for your wife.”
Gavin answered:
“She understands business.”
I felt sick.
While I was holding Mom’s cold hand, he was presenting her property.
Then who was Peachtree Closing Services?
A small document preparation company in Atlanta.
Not full title insurer.
Owner:
Evan Price.
He admitted receiving deed packet by email from Gavin.
He believed signatures already notarized.
He did not witness.
He submitted electronic recording as a clerical service.
“Did you verify ownership?”
“No. We don’t issue title insurance.”
“Did you ask why grantor lived in Macon and grantee was new LLC?”
“No.”
Not ideal.
But not necessarily crime.
Then email from Gavin:
Need recorded before 9 a.m. Thursday.
Sent at 6:52 a.m.
The morning after Mom died.
Evan replied:
Can expedite.
Then:
Any issue grantor deceased?
Gavin:
Signed prior. No issue.
He knew she had died.
Then Evan asked:
Do we need death certificate?
Gavin:
No. Avoid complicating.
That word.
Avoid.
Then Harriet was copied.
She replied:
Please move.
Miriam looked at me.
“They were racing the clock.”
But why lock me up?
Even if I reached hospital, deed still could be recorded.
Unless Mom intended to tell me and I would intervene before nine.
Then Martha Bell returned call.
Mom’s title contact.
With estate authorization, she disclosed:
Loretta had scheduled an appointment for 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
The same morning investors came.
“What for?”
Martha opened her notes.
“Your mother believed someone had been searching her land records and had presented a draft transfer she never approved.”
My throat closed.
“What did she want to do?”
“Sign an affidavit confirming she had not transferred or authorized anyone to transfer the property.”
If filed, the affidavit would flag title immediately.
Investors would see dispute.
Gavin’s meeting would collapse.
Mom died before appointment.
Then:
“When did she schedule?”
Tuesday afternoon.
Hours before her heart attack.
“Did anyone else know?”
Martha hesitated.
“She said her son in law had been pressuring her.”
“Did she tell him about appointment?”
“She said he knew she was going to ‘fix the record in the morning.’”
There.
Gavin knew.
Then Martha said:
“Loretta was trying to reach Samantha because she wanted her daughter to have a copy before anything was filed.”
My hands began shaking.
Blue envelope.
Maybe it contained draft affidavit.
Or evidence.
Then one more email surfaced.
Loretta to Gavin, 7:18 p.m. Tuesday:
Do not contact me about Apex again. I am meeting title counsel Thursday morning. If anything has been filed using my name, I will challenge it.
Gavin replied:
You’re overreacting.
Loretta:
We’ll see.
Eight hours later, she had the heart attack.
Again, no evidence they caused it.
But when Lucas called me at two in the morning, Gavin knew exactly what Mom had planned for 8:30.
If he let me go to the hospital, I might find out before his nine o’clock meeting.
So he took my keys.
May you like
Then locked the door.
Continue to the next part: Samantha finally understands why Gavin needed to keep her away from the hospital until after morning, but proving he knew the deed was false will require more than cruel timing.
