Chapter 6: What Dominic Said
Three weeks later, on a Tuesday morning, Dominic Caldwell walked into Derek's conference room believing he was attending a routine meeting about a property acquisition dispute.
He came alone.
He wore a charcoal suit.
He set his phone face-up on the table, which told Derek everything he needed to know about how Dominic expected the conversation to go.
Marcus and I sat on one side of the table.
Derek sat at the head.
Bianca was not in the room.
She was in the building — in a separate office down the hall, with her own attorney.
Dominic looked at me and his expression didn't change.
He looked at Marcus and offered a brief, practiced smile.
"I wasn't told Naomi would be here," he said.
"She's here," Marcus said.
Dominic sat down.
He glanced at the documents on the table — the folder was closed — and then back at Derek.
"My client has some questions about Blue Lantern Holdings," Derek said.
"Specifically about the note acquired eighteen months ago on a property at 4471 Morrow Road, Riverdale, Georgia.
Owned by Denise Ellis."
Dominic's expression remained pleasant.
"Blue Lantern is an investment vehicle.
It operates within all applicable regulations."
"The vehicle is registered to your sister," Derek said.
"Bianca is a passive investor."
"She signed the ownership documents without being told what assets the vehicle would hold."
A very small pause.
"That's not my recollection."
"Then perhaps this will help your recollection." Derek opened the folder and slid three pages across the table.
Dominic looked at them.
He turned the second page over.
He turned it back.
"These are internal communications," he said carefully.
"I'd want to understand their source before commenting."
"Their source is Raymond Osei, your company's internal auditor, who has provided a full sworn statement to the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance." Derek let that land.
"The regulatory complaint was filed eleven days ago.
Blue Lantern's assets, including the Ellis note, are currently frozen pending investigation."
Dominic's hand went to his phone.
He didn't pick it up.
"The addendum to the original loan agreement contains terms that were not properly disclosed to the borrower," Derek continued.
"The payment routing structure held the borrower's funds without applying them to principal for eighteen months, causing artificial balance inflation.
These practices, taken together, represent potential violations under O.C.G.A.
Section 7-6A-3 and applicable federal statutes."
"I'll need to speak with my attorney," Dominic said.
"Of course.
But before you do — I want to give you the opportunity to tell us something directly." Derek folded his hands.
"Was your mother aware of the addendum modification?"
Dominic looked at Marcus.
Something moved behind his eyes — not guilt exactly, more like calculation, the same look he probably wore when he decided to route the payments through Bianca's name.
"My mother," he said slowly, "has always protected this family's interests."
"That's not an answer," Marcus said.
"It's the only answer I'm going to give in this room."
He stood up and buttoned his jacket.
At the door, he paused with his hand on the frame and looked back at me — not at Marcus, not at Derek.
"You should have understood what you were marrying into," he said.
"This family has standards.
We were trying to establish whether you could meet them."
The room was quiet.
"Your sister is in this building right now," I said.
"She brought everything you ever asked her to sign."
Dominic's hand dropped from the door frame.
"She's cooperating fully," I said.
"Every document.
Every conversation she can remember.
Every text."
He stood very still for a moment.
The pleasant expression was gone.
What was underneath it was harder and older and not at all what he showed at family dinners.
Then he walked out.
Derek looked at me after the door closed.
"That last part wasn't in the plan."
"No," I agreed.
"It was effective." He made a note.
"His attorney will call within the hour."
Marcus reached under the table and took my hand.
May you like
His grip was warm and steady and said everything he didn't say out loud.
Dominic's attorney called in forty minutes.
