Chapter 4
North Harbor Urban Partners had made offers on six properties in the neighborhood.
Grace found that within forty-eight hours.
Three belonged to businesses the club had stopped using.
Vance Bakery.
Montrose Floral.
D’Angelo Meats.
Another property belonged to a retired couple who owned the building housing one of the cleaning contractors Dominic removed.
Rocco spread the addresses across his dining-room table.
“Who owns North Harbor?”
“Investment group.”
“Which means?”
“Multiple LLCs.”
“Which means someone worked hard to make the answer annoying.”
Grace nodded.
Rocco disliked secret ownership structures on principle.
Mostly because his own world had used them for generations.
He instructed Grace to keep digging legally through public filings, financing disclosures, and corporate records.
No threats.
No visits from men in suits.
No favors from government employees.
Dominic learned about the investigation anyway.
He arrived at Rocco’s home that evening.
“You’re investigating real estate now?”
“I’m reviewing club operations.”
“North Harbor has nothing to do with the club.”
“Maybe.”
“It’s a redevelopment company.”
“I know what words mean.”
Dominic’s temper surfaced.
“You put me in charge because you wanted the club profitable.”
“I put you in charge because you spent fifteen years telling me you were ready.”
“And I am.”
Rocco looked at him.
“You knocked money out of a three-year-old’s hand.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
“We are really going to keep returning to that?”
“Yes.”
“It was one moment.”
“Character usually is.”
Dominic paced toward the window.
“You don’t understand what this neighborhood has become.”
Rocco’s expression sharpened.
“I grew up eight blocks from that bakery.”
“And that was forty years ago.”
Dominic pointed toward the city outside.
“Members don’t want delivery vans blocking the entrance. They don’t want cheap storefronts surrounding a private club. They want security. Prestige. Privacy.”
“Then why buy the storefronts?”
Dominic froze.
Only for a fraction of a second.
Rocco saw it.
“I didn’t say anyone was buying them.”
Dominic recovered quickly.
“You just mentioned North Harbor.”
“No.”
Rocco leaned back.
“I asked why you canceled a bakery contract.”
The silence between them became heavy.
Dominic had known the investigation had reached the property purchases before Rocco told him.
That was the third clue.
He left five minutes later claiming he had a dinner reservation.
Rocco watched him go.
Dominic’s explanation—luxury rebranding—made sense.
That was what made it dangerous.
Good motives were rarely necessary for bad behavior.
Plausible motives were enough.
May you like
Rocco still did not know whether his nephew was merely arrogant or something worse.
But he no longer believed the vendor removals were independent business decisions.
