Caleb provided evidence of my authorship, and the investors froze the remaining payments. West Bridge permanently disqualified Reed Custom Build from bidding. Two of Logan’s existing clients also canceled their contracts after learning he’d claimed architectural credentials he didn’t hold. I didn’t call those clients. I didn’t contact the investors to gloat. The records were enough.
Then Caleb explained something I hadn’t known about my parents. They had signed a home-equity guarantee to help Logan secure his investment. He’d convinced them that the West Bridge deal was certain and their house would never be at risk. Now the investors were demanding repayment, and the home my parents had spent years living in could be affected by the mess Logan had created.
I felt sick when I heard that. Dad had dismissed my career as a hobby, yet he had put his home behind Logan’s claims about a design he hadn’t made. I wondered whether he had ever asked to see the paperwork or had simply trusted the son who, according to Mom, was the real builder.
I could feel the old urge to fix it. I’d paid when Logan couldn’t make payroll. I’d corrected his layouts. I’d covered Dad’s dental bill. Some part of me still thought it was my responsibility to find the money or the right phone call to make everything bearable for everyone else.
That night, Logan sent twenty-seven messages. At first he threatened to sue me. Then he accused me of destroying the family. By morning, the messages had become apologies, each one tangled with a reason I should help him again. I didn’t answer.
I hadn’t taken revenge on his company. I’d protected the work I’d created and answered questions truthfully when lawyers asked. If I had hidden the evidence, he might have kept collecting money under false claims. Silence wouldn’t have been kindness to anybody, including the people he’d misled.
Three nights later, there was pounding at my apartment door. When I opened it, Mom, Dad, and Logan stood in the hallway. Dad held a stack of legal papers. Mom’s eyes were swollen. Before I could ask what they wanted, she said, “You have to help us. One signature could save our house.”
CHAPTER 4
Mom held out the papers as though the decision had already been made. “Tell the investors you gave Logan permission,” she said. “Just explain that he was allowed to use the design.”