Chapter 6 - THE FOUNDATION THAT SHOULDN'T EXIST
Victor ordered an independent engineering inspection of Harborline.
Raymond Sloane protested immediately.
"The project is already behind schedule."
Victor looked at him across the conference table.
"Then another delay won't surprise anyone."
Sloane smiled tightly.
"Victor, we've worked together for twenty years."
"Then you know I don't repeat myself."
The inspection proceeded.
Three days later, the engineers found something alarming.
The east foundation contained structural elements that did not match the approved plans.
Certain materials had been substituted.
Inspection records were incomplete.
And the discrepancies suggested the project could become unsafe if construction continued.
Victor shut down the affected work immediately.
The workers were sent home with pay.
The city was notified.
Alice learned about the shutdown from the men who ate at her truck.
She confronted Victor the next morning.
"You closed the site?"
"Part of it."
"People need those jobs."
"I know."
"Then why?"
Victor looked at her.
"Because I won't let them work beneath something that could collapse."
Alice studied him.
Then nodded slowly.
"Daniel would have said the same thing."
Victor looked away.
That afternoon, Marco arrived with another discovery.
Raymond Sloane had authorized payments to the same consulting firm Daniel investigated five years earlier.
The payments continued long after the firm's supposed closure.
Victor stared at the records.
"Where did the money go?"
Marco hesitated.
"To shell companies."
"Owned by?"
"Still tracing."
Victor stood.
"Find the owners."
That evening, Alice found an envelope beneath the windshield wiper of her truck.
Inside was a photograph of Ben leaving school.
On the back, someone had written:
TELL RALDI TO STOP DIGGING.
Alice's hands began shaking.
She called Victor.
He answered immediately.
"Alice?"
Her voice broke.
"They know where my son goes to school."
Victor went completely still.
"Where are you?"
"Outside the truck."
"Stay in a public place. Call the police. I'm coming."
When Victor arrived, Alice was standing beside the truck with Ben pressed against her side.
She looked terrified.
Victor approached slowly.
"I'm sorry."
Alice stared at him.
"For what?"
"For bringing danger back into your life."
She shook her head.
"No."
May you like
Her voice trembled.
"The danger never left."
