She trails off.
“But it freezes the funds,” I finish quietly.
She nods.
“And the insurance payouts.”
I lean back in the chair.
There it is.
Not a bullet.
Not a fire.
A pause.
A choke point.
“How many properties does Northstar currently own in this county?” I ask.
Mrs. Calder checks another screen.
“…None.”
She hesitates.
“…Yet.”
Yet.
I stand slowly.
“Who’srepresenting them?”
She reads off the law firm’s name.
I know it immediately.
A firm that specializes in laundering legitimacy.
Turning illegal power into respectable paperwork.
I smile tightly.
She isn’t attacking the girl.
She’s attacking the ground under her feet.
She knows Laney might make this town her home someday.
So she’s making sure the ground collapses first.
Marco
I step outside the bank and make three calls.
Two confirm my suspicion.
