The Captain I Married by Chance novel Chapter 430

"He actually managed to get the company running, but it went under in no time, and he completely vanished!"

Toby's chest heaved as he recounted the betrayal.

If he could travel back in time, he would have beaten himself senseless before ever trusting Lawrence.

"When my grandmother found out I lost all my savings, she had a heart attack. Her health was already failing, and the shock just destroyed her. She died shortly after."

"I tried to hunt him down, but he was a ghost. I didn't even know where his office was or who worked for him."

"I spent days staking out his house, only to realize he had completely abandoned his mother. Months went by, and he hadn't called her once."

"He left her sick, and I didn't know how to break the news to her. Every day, I'd hear her telling the neighbors that her boy was working far away, that he'd come back as soon as he struck it rich. I couldn't shatter that for her, so I just stopped going."

Toby knew Clara was just lying to herself.

Lawrence had stolen his money, but he had robbed his mother of the rest of her life.

He left her to cling to a pathetic delusion.

Lawrence was lower than dirt.

"How much did you lend him?"

"A hundred grand," Toby replied.

Nathan thought for a second. "Did you ever see anyone else trying to collect money from him?"

Toby blinked, shaking his head. "No, I never heard about anyone else."

"Based on our investigation, getting that company off the ground cost well over a million dollars."

"Your hundred grand was a drop in the bucket. Either Lawrence conned a lot of other people you don't know about, or he already had the cash and just used your loan as a legal cover to pay out dividends."

Nathan met his gaze. "When did this happen?"

"Recently. I heard the locals talking about it when I was back in Hawthorne County. Everyone was cursing Lawrence. It's one thing to ignore your mother for years, but he didn't even show up when she died in the hospital."

"The problem is, no one back home knows which hospital she was in or what happened to her. Otherwise, out of respect for the old days, some of us would have chipped in for her funeral. We're all from the same town; we wouldn't just leave her like that."

Nathan let a beat pass before speaking. "Clara Caldwell did pass away from an illness. Her body is currently here at the station."

"What?"

Toby's jaw practically hit the floor. "Why is she at a police station?"

"Someone brought her remains to us."

Toby looked even more stunned. "Who? Did Lawrence actually come back?"