“There is a confidential expansion project at my company. They are going to build a massive data center and industrial park in a remote area of southern Idaho that has been stalled for years due to local land disputes. It has not been announced yet, but once the public filing happens, that land will triple in value overnight.”
“Are you absolutely sure about this?”
“I saw the confidential master plan documents before I left. I cannot move any of my own money because the company is performing an internal audit on all senior management after the trip. If I make a personal purchase now, it will look like illegal insider trading. But you could do it for us.”
Kyle became completely quiet, and I could almost hear his mind racing through the numbers.
“How much money would we need to get in on this?”
“A friend of mine from university, a real estate developer named Rachel, owns five prime lots in that sector. She is currently in debt due to a failed project elsewhere and is looking to sell them quickly for six million dollars. If someone buys the land now, in a few weeks they could easily sell it for eighteen million or more.”
“Eighteen million?” he whispered, his voice shaking with open hunger.
“Yes, but it has to be immediate. If we wait, other investors will catch wind of the rumors.”
“I… I think I could get my hands on some capital,” he said, his voice slipping into something greedy and low. “Maybe three million.”
Three million. The exact amount he had taken from my father’s life savings. I pressed my teeth together and forced myself to sound thrilled.
“Really? That would be absolutely perfect, Kyle. You buy what you can with that, and we can find a way to cover the rest later. But you have to keep this a complete secret. If my company finds out that someone close to me is investing in that sector, they will destroy my career.”
“Do not worry about a thing,” he promised, sounding steadier and more confident than before. “I will take care of everything. That is what a husband is for, right?”
I ended the call and immediately sent a message to Rachel, my old college friend who now worked as an independent real estate agent. She had been trying for months to unload several abandoned, worthless lots in a dead industrial area of Idaho because she needed quick cash.
“He has taken the bait, Rachel. He is going to come looking for you soon. Do exactly what we discussed.”
Rachel replied with a simple thumbs-up emoji.
