I spent Monday morning in the business office with Nora and a spreadsheet that refused to behave.
The bank loan was real. So was the damage. Vale House had borrowed heavily after the storm, then spent more than planned on the ballroom and kitchen. The insurance payment had covered only part of the repairs.
But the company had also paid Pike Shore Advisors nearly three hundred thousand dollars over two years. Some invoices described market research. Others said "asset strategy" or "transition consultation." The largest payments arrived in the same months Harborlight began making offers.
Nora brought me a box of backup files. "I found these in the old accounts cabinet."
"Why were they there?"
"Grant asked me to keep them separate from the standard reports."
I opened the first folder. I
