Chapter 13 - Before the First Date
Seven years earlier, Grant had been a junior developer searching for land around Lake Briar.
His company identified the Bennett lake house as the most important parcel.
Without it, no major commercial project could gain direct road access.
Grant first contacted Margaret Bennett with an offer.
She refused.
He increased the price.
She refused again.
Margaret wrote one final response.
THIS HOME WILL NEVER BE SOLD FOR DEVELOPMENT.
Months later, Margaret died.
The deed transferred to Claire.
Grant ordered an employee to prepare a profile on the new owner.
The file included Claire’s workplace.
Her favorite charity.
Her college history.
Even the coffee shop she visited on Thursday mornings.
Grant met Claire at that coffee shop three weeks later.
He pretended the meeting was accidental.
Claire remembered the day clearly.
He had spilled coffee near her table.
He had made her laugh.
He had asked for her number.
For years, she called it fate.
Now she saw a scheduled entry in his calendar.
BENNETT CONTACT—9:30 A.M.
Claire left Nora’s office and became physically ill in the parking lot.
Robert found her sitting inside her car.
Nora had asked him to bring the old forgery records.
When he saw the email, his face collapsed.
“He told us you met through friends.”
“He studied me before he approached me.”
Robert sat beside her.
“I don’t know how to apologize for raising a man capable of this.”
“You didn’t forge the deed.”
“I taught him consequences could be avoided.”
Claire looked at the lake house key in her palm.
“Did he ever love me?”
Robert did not lie to comfort her.
“I don’t know.”
That honesty hurt.
But it also freed her.
She no longer had to search Grant’s memories for proof that some part of the marriage had been real.
The prosecutors added identity theft, bank fraud and conspiracy charges.
Yet Grant continued claiming Claire had voluntarily participated.
He said the old property profile was ordinary business research.
Then Serena handed investigators a hidden audio file.
May you like
It had been recorded the night before Grant proposed.
👉 Grant’s own voice was about to reveal whether the marriage proposal had ever been about love.
