PART 15: THE BLACKSTONE SCHEME
PART 15: THE BLACKSTONE SCHEME
Three months later, the Maple Grove Community Park was fully operational.
The wide-open green spaces were filled with the sound of children playing, their laughter carrying through the crisp winter air.
Lily stood near the baseline structure, her beautiful yellow cardigan bright against the snow, trading small, polished river stones with Tommy.
I sat on a stone bench nearby, watching her radiant, peaceful features.
Then, a black sedan pulled up to the curb, its engine idling with a low, deep rumble.
A man in a sharp, tailored charcoal suit stepped out, holding a polished leather briefcase.
It was Daniel Cross.
The developer who had tried to buy out the southern district before the federal receivership took control of the Ashford family land.
He walked up the concrete path, stopping just a few feet from my bench.
"You're a hard man to find, Jacob," Daniel said, his voice dropping to a smooth, business-like whisper.
"I'm not hiding, Daniel," I said, not looking up from my laptop.
"The city council is voting on the western expansion project tonight," he said, leaning against the safety fence. "My firm holds forty percent of the voting proxies. If you don't agree to a joint venture, we will vote to turn that extension into a commercial parking garage."
I closed my laptop and looked at him.
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"You look exactly like a man who believes the hardest chapter of his life has already ended, Daniel," I said quietly.
He smiled, a confident, practiced expression. "I know how the regional market indices work, Bennett. You can't execute a forensic overrun without a majority share."
