The static hissed for a second before the muffled sounds of the diner’s kitchen clatter came through the system. Isabel leaned her head back against the headrest, her jaw clenching as she listened to the conversation between Darius, Baxter, and Dr. Deborah Wineberg. Her stomach clenched at the start, but then hope burst into her when she heard Darius turn Baxter down flat. Maybe Penny was right, and Darius’s resolve about the project was waning.
They heard the part where Darius got up and left, then Isabel and Penny snapped to attention upon hearing the conversation between Dr. Wineberg and Baxter as soon as Darius left the table.
"I'm not entirely certain your cousin is very happy with the idea of debunking the findings at the property," Dr. Wineberg’s voice drawled through the speakers, her polished southern accent carrying a brittle, clinical edge.
"He'll come around," Baxter's voice answered immediately, his tone laced with a defensive, arrogant confidence. "Especially if they do find something substantial down there. A formal designation will put his entire timeline even further behind schedule, and Darius doesn't tolerate delays. He'll use whatever tools we put in front of him to keep the project moving."
There was a short pause on the tape, the faint sound of a porcelain saucer scraping against the laminate table breaking the text.
"If Dr. Reed and Dr. Caldwell are actively managing the assessment, it might be exceptionally difficult for me to secure a position on the state review panel," Debbi continued, her tone dipping into a tight, resentful register. "I've already explained my history with them, Baxter. They bear a significant grudge against me from our time in Charleston. They won't allow my name near the official filings."
"Don't worry about them," Baxter countered quickly, his voice loud and dismissive. "I'll get you onto that panel even if they're standing right in the doorway. There's no way I'm going to sit back and let the family create a fake heritage site just to block our transaction."
"You don't know what I know about Dr. Owen Reed and Anna Caldwell," Debbi hissed, her voice dropping into a harsh, intense whisper that made the hair on Isabel's arms stand up. "They'll do whatever it takes to get what they want. It's probably the exact reason the family brought them into SweetBlossom Bay in the first place. We need to locate Owen Reed before Dr. Caldwell reaches this island."
The recording continued for another moment, then transitioned to the part where Debbi began questioning the young waitress about Owen’s current residential address before the audio cut out completely as Isabel hit the stop button.
Isabel sat completely stunned, her eyes wide as she stared blankly at the glowing dashboard.
"What on earth does she mean by that?" Isabel breathed, her voice trembling slightly with a mixture of confusion and mounting anger. "She sounded almost frightened of them. Penny, what is Baxter getting my brother involved in?"
Before Penny could answer, the car’s console screen flashed with an incoming call from the Miami office. Penny hit the speaker icon immediately.
"Hello, Tracy," Penny answered.
"I found something, and it's troubling," Tracy said, her voice dropping into a hurried, cautious whisper. "The legal and compliance director just received a notification that a formal background authorization was executed through our system less than ten minutes ago. Someone commissioned a priority investigator from David's Intelligence Services to pull the complete, updated financial records on the property, on Michael Heart, and on Linda Heart."
Isabel felt the blood drain from her face, her hand flying to her collarbone as a cold wave of shock prickled her skin.
"They're pulling hotel and their personal financials," Isabel whispered, looking over at Penny with a horrified expression.
"Tracy, do you know which specific investigator within Clyde's firm handled the authorization request?" Penny asked, her fingers tightening around the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white.
"I haven't been able to retrieve the specific internal docket assignment yet without raising suspicions among the database administrators," Tracy explained quickly. "The request bypassed the standard regional review desk entirely. I'm going to stay after hours tonight to pull the encrypted log files from the main server. I'll call you the second I have the investigator's name."
"Thank you, Tracy. Keep your head down," Penny said, disconnecting the call with a heavy sigh.
“Oh, and Ms. Rawlings…” Tracy said, her voice dropping even lower. “I believe they’re trying to look into someone named Dr. Owen Reed as well.”
The interior of the sedan became completely still again. Isabel stared at the digital console, her breathing shallow as the pieces of the corporate game began to realign in her mind.
"If Darius is pulling their financial dockets..." Isabel began, her voice dropping into a sad, hollow register before her anger surged back to take its place. "What exactly does he intend to do with their debts, Penny?” It was not a question. “He's going to squeeze them. He's going to use their private liabilities and whatever financial difficulties the hotel is facing to force them to sign the land over."
Penny shook her head slowly, her expression tight with a mixture of disbelief and defensive loyalty. "Darius wouldn't stoop to that level, Isabel. I know he's authorized preliminary financial profiles for prospective acquisitions in the past, buthe uses them strictly as an informational baseline during negotiations. He doesn't weaponize any, or especially, private debt."
"Have you forgotten the West Palm Beach fiasco?" Isabel demanded, turning in her seat to face her friend directly, her eyes blazing with sudden fury. "That boutique hotel on the water was completely crushed because the Wayne Group weaponized their outstanding construction loans. The couple who owned that property nearly lost their livelihood, their home, everything they'd built over thirty years."
"That was Baxter's doing, not your brother's," Penny countered softly, though she shifted uncomfortably against the leather seat, her gaze dropping to her lap.
"Darius sat back and did absolutely nothing to stop it until the entire situation escalated to the point where you had to personally interfere to save the family from a public relations disaster," Isabel spat, her voice rising in pitch. "He allowed Baxter to run that play."
Penny opened her mouth to speak, her jaw clenching tightly as she stopped herself from uttering the words that rose to her throat. She stared through the windshield, her face paling, and she swallowed hard as if she was trying to force down some secret. Isabel frowned at her and then shook it off. She was probably imagining it as she was so angry with her brother. But that same nagging doubt from back then resurfaced. That doubt that had told her they were not telling her the full truth about what had happened at that hotel. She shook it off as she had then.
"While it looks terrible right now, we still don't have hard proof that Darius personally authorized this specific investigationtoday," Penny reasoned gently. "We need to verify the timeline before we make an accusation."
Before Isabel could reply, the phone buzzed violently on the console once more, Tracy’s name flashing on the screen.
Penny swiped it instantly. "Do you have more information for us, Tracy?"
