It was more than the property would have fetched in a forced sale.
Less than the shop could be worth if stabilized.
“A generous exit,” Miles said.
Coulter answered immediately.
“No.”
Miles blinked.
“You haven’t read it.”
“No.”
“You should.”
“No.”
“Coulter, every bank in this town knows you’re struggling.”
Coulter’s jaw tightened.
Miles continued.
“You’ve got one employee turning wrenches, an office that looked abandoned until recently, equipment that should’ve been replaced ten years ago, and winter coming.”
“No.”
Miles sighed.
“Pride makes terrible collateral.”
Coulter stepped closer.
“You finished?”
Miles folded the contract.
His smile returned, but now it looked thin.
“You’ll call me before winter.”
“I won’t.”
“You will when the bank calls.”
Miles left.
Adeline watched his truck disappear.
Coulter said, “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Tell me I should’ve considered it.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
“What were you going to say?”
“That he knew too much.”
Coulter looked at her.
“What?”
“He knew details about your financing that aren’t public.”
“People talk.”
“Banks aren’t supposed to.”
“This is a small town.”
“Exactly.”
Coulter dismissed it.
Adeline did not.
Four days later, a supplier cancelled their account.
No warning.
The company had provided Briggs Auto Repair with routine parts for more than a decade.
The representative cited “internal policy changes.”
Adeline asked what policy.
He would not say.
She asked whether Briggs was delinquent.
No.
Credit issue?
No.
Service issue?
No.
Then why terminate the account?
“I’m not authorized to discuss it.”
Coulter slammed the phone down after speaking with him.
“Find someone else.”
Adeline did.
At a higher cost.
Then a shipment vanished.
Brake components.
Tracking showed dispatched from the warehouse, then nothing.
Three customer repairs stalled.
One customer went elsewhere.
The supplier issued a refund but offered no explanation.
Then two longtime customers mentioned a new repair shop beyond the county line offering service at prices so low Adeline did not understand how labor was covered.
She searched the business registration.
The shop operated under a different name.
Ownership traced to an LLC.
The LLC traced to a holding company.
The holding company belonged to Miles Donovan.
She printed everything.
Coulter barely looked.
“Competition.”
“Maybe.”
“It’s legal to charge less.”
“I know.”
“You think everything is connected.”
“I think timing matters.”
He wiped his hands.
“You spent too long in corporate offices.”
“Maybe.”
“Bad luck comes in clusters.”
“So does strategy.”
Coulter shook his head.
Adeline started a notebook anyway.
Date.
Incident.
Company involved.
Person contacted.
What they said.
Supporting document.
It was an old habit.