Chapter 2

After that dinner, I didn't sit around doing nothing.

I asked a friend with ties to the city hall and building departments to run a full background check on Shane's company.

The more I found out, the more sick to my stomach I felt.

Shane's company, Stratum Construction Corp, still had a valid business license, but its accounts had long been drained.

Two years earlier, he'd taken on a commercial complex renovation project that had eventually stalled. Most of the construction payments had been siphoned away.

Some of the money had gone toward plugging holes in his own finances. No one knew where the rest had gone.

Now the construction site sat abandoned, with the steel and concrete already rusting away. The workers had all left.

Worse still, the company owed its workers 230 grand in unpaid wages. Not a single penny had been paid.

It also owed suppliers more than 200 grand for materials. The IOUs and loan agreements from various creditors were stacked nearly a foot high.

I went through them one by one, and I felt a chill down my spine.

This was the major project Shane had been talking about. It was nothing but an insolvent disaster.

As I was looking through the information, Shane called. He'd been calling me over ten times a day.

"Bud, what are you up to? Listen, I haven't told anyone about that project. I was saving it for you.

"We grew up together. We've been best friends since we were kids. If I don't help you, who will?

"You're working on your own now. Isn't it exhausting? Come work with me. I guarantee you'll make money."

I responded with the occasional hums and grunts while my hands kept moving.

I saved Shane's list of debts, where the construction payments had gone, and the company's liabilities onto my phone one by one.

I even looked into the accountant who had helped Shane falsify the books. The ledgers were full of alterations and suspicious corrections.

I then had someone investigate the so-called investor.

What I found only confirmed my suspicions.

The important man Shane had mentioned was named Samuel Warthorn. He wasn't a legitimate investor at all.

He was a loan shark who specialized in private lending. His reputation was terrible.

Shane had probably borrowed money from Samuel and was now being forced to drag me in to clean up his mess.

I already knew what was going on, but I didn't let on.

Whenever Shane called again, I simply smiled and played along. "All right, I'll think about it. Don't worry. How could I not care about my friend's business?"

Shane laughed cheerfully on the other end. "That's more like it! Bud, I'm telling you, once this opportunity is gone, it's gone. You have to come this Friday. I've already drawn up the contract."

After hanging up, I called my cousin, Daniel Cameron. "Help me look into someone named Samuel Warthorn. He does private lending. See if he has any cases on record."

Twelve hours later, Daniel texted me.

[Isaac, this guy is bad news. He's got several cases on his record involving debt collection, and he has a bunch of thugs working for him.]

I stared at the message. The last bit of doubt in my mind disappeared.

This man wasn't an investor. This was a trap that had already been set.

I’d been in the construction business for years and met all kinds of people, but I’d never met anyone like Shane. He was someone who could throw his own friend under the bus and act like he was doing him a favor.

I had no intention of running away from this. It wasn't my style.

If Shane wanted to set a trap for me, I was going to make sure it blew up in his face.

I organized all the evidence on my phone.

I photographed the contract template, archived the debt list, and backed up the recordings of my conversations with Shane.

I even printed out everything I'd found about the fake investor, Samuel.

I then called a lawyer I knew well.

"Mr. Jackson, I need you to keep an eye on something. I might need your help next Friday."

Liam Jackson answered and asked what was going on.

I thought for a moment before responding. "Someone's trying to make me take the fall for something. I don't intend to let that happen."

There was a brief silence on the other end. "All right. Send me the materials. I'll take a look."

I hung up and placed my phone face down on the table.

Shane had already built the stage for this show, so I'd step onto it and play along until the very end.