Chapter 4: The Secret Insurance Policies

My fingers traced the faded ink of Nia’s signature on the land deed. Hollis Holdings Group LLC. The name echoed in my head like a warning. She had played the long game, a secret owner manipulating her own company to clear a path for a project she already stood to gain from personally.

But a ten-year-old land deed wasn’t enough on its own. It explained the motive, yes, but not the *immediacy* of the arson, not the $45 million stake. There had to be more.

I carefully scanned the physical document, noting the precise filing numbers. The city’s public tax records were accessible online, though sometimes buried deep within arcane municipal databases. This was where my preservation analyst skills truly shone.

I navigated the labyrinthine city portal, entering the property address and then cross-referencing the Hollis Holdings Group LLC. My screen glowed with layers of data: property tax assessments, zoning classifications, past ownership transfers. It took almost an hour, my lunch forgotten, my focus absolute.

Then I saw it.

Buried under recent activity, a series of financial transactions. Not property sales, but insurance policies. And not just one.

My eyes widened. Three separate, substantial fire insurance policies, each for $15 million. Totaling $45 million. And the beneficiary? Hollis Holdings Group LLC.

The policies had been taken out just three days prior. Three days. That was the missing link. Nia hadn’t just owned the land; she’d just insured it for a massive payout, just before the “accidental” fire was slated to occur.

This wasn’t just about clearing land for a new project anymore. This was outright insurance fraud, engineered to look like a tragic loss. She was planning to destroy a historic landmark, risking countless lives, all for a payout that would line her own pockets.

$45 million. The sum made my head spin. It was enough to reshape Nia’s entire financial future, to make her untouchable. And she was using me, her closest work friend, as a convenient distraction, trapping me with legal threats while she prepared to light the match.

The mirror on my desk seemed to shimmer, reflecting not just light, but the weight of the truth I had uncovered. The vision was no longer a terrifying premonition; it was a blueprint for a crime. I had the *how*, confirmed by Marcus. I had the *motive*, thanks to the hidden deed. And now, I had the *payout*: $45 million in secret, recently acquired fire insurance.

Nia wasn’t just my antagonist; she was a criminal mastermind, and I was holding the evidence.