Victoria's face went white. "That's completely untrue, and you know it."
"Is it?"
Blackstone pulled out his phone and showed Ethan what appeared to be a business document. "Sterling Dynamics has a consulting contract with Phoenix Development Group signed last month. PDG happens to be our primary competitor for several downtown projects."
Ethan stared at the document, his mind racing. The timing was suspiciously convenient.
"Victoria's car broke down right in front of the one shop that's holding up a major development project. Her daughter immediately decided she wants to be my daughter's best friend. You offer me more money than I've ever dreamed of making."
"You think I orchestrated all this?" Victoria's voice was barely controlled. "You think I had my car sabotaged and coached Emma to manipulate you?"
"I don't know what to think," Ethan admitted. "A few days ago, my biggest worry was making rent. Now I'm supposedly in the middle of some real estate conspiracy, and I can't tell who's telling the truth."
Victoria pulled out her phone. "Call Emma's piano teacher. Ask her how long Emma's been taking lessons. Call the BMW dealership. Ask them about my service history. Call anyone who can verify that my life existed before last week."
"That's not the point."
"It is exactly the point."
Victoria's composure finally cracked. "You think I'm some kind of corporate manipulator who uses her daughter as bait for business deals? That I'd exploit your kindness and Mia's trust for a real estate scam?"
The passion in her voice was convincing, but Blackstone's words kept echoing in Ethan's head. He'd seen what happened to people who trusted the wrong person in business. His own father had nearly lost the shop to a partner who'd turned out to have ulterior motives.
"I need time to think, and I need to have these documents reviewed, like Blackstone suggested."
Victoria nodded stiffly. "Of course, do whatever you need to do. But Ethan..."
She paused at the door of the shop. "When you're reviewing those documents, remember that everything I've told you about my feelings for you and my daughter's affection for Mia is real. Whatever else you doubt, don't doubt that."
After she left, Ethan sat in his office staring at Blackstone's folder. Inside were contracts, financial records, and what appeared to be a detailed analysis of property values in the neighborhood. The more he read, the more confused he became.
His phone buzzed with a text from Tommy Nguyen. "Ethan, you okay? I saw that Blackstone guy at your shop earlier. He's bad news, man."
"What do you know about him?"
"He came to my restaurant 3 weeks ago, offered to buy me out, but when I said no, suddenly I had health inspectors showing up every other day. Fire marshal found violations that had never been problems before. My delivery van got towed twice for parking in the same spot I've used for 5 years."
Ethan felt his stomach drop. "Did he mention anything about Sterling Dynamics?"