Chapter 10 - Blood on the Ledgers
Elena opened the thick folder I had just placed on the table, spreading a series of horrific, full-color photographs across the wood.
The images showed a massive pile of twisted steel, shattered concrete, and crushed drywall. It was the aftermath of a catastrophic structural failure at the Westside Vista complex, a renovation project Derek had personally overseen three months prior. A primary stairwell had entirely collapsed under its own weight during the middle of the night.
"Three innocent tenants were severely injured in this collapse," Elena said, her voice dropping to a somber, heavy whisper. "One of them, a single mother, suffered permanent spinal damage. The city ruled it an unavoidable tragedy caused by pre-existing foundational rot."
I pointed to a printed email chain I had pulled from Derek’s hidden server. "It wasn't an unavoidable tragedy. It was deliberate negligence. These emails prove Derek was explicitly warned by the lead structural engineer that the cheaper, unapproved steel supports he sourced through Marlene’s shell company would not hold the required load-bearing weight."
Detective Shaw swore softly under his breath, staring at the emails. "He ordered them to use the cheap steel anyway, and bribed the inspector to look the other way."
I closed the folder, feeling a wave of intense, physical sickness wash over my stomach. The bruises on my face throbbed, but the pain felt entirely insignificant compared to the suffering of those tenants.
"When I found these emails," I said, looking at the faces around the table, "this stopped being a personal mission for revenge."
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"It became accountability," Elena finished for me, her eyes locking onto mine.
"Yes," I nodded. "Derek and Marlene are going to pay for my father’s company, and for my bruised face. But more importantly, they are going to pay for the blood they spilled to get rich."
