Chapter 9 - THE BOY WHO SAVED THE BLUEPRINTS
Ben had kept his red notebook in his backpack.
It was the only thing from the apartment that survived.
Inside were copies of Daniel's drawings.
The warehouse.
The Harborline foundation.
And a set of numbers nobody had understood.
Victor arranged for an independent forensic accountant and engineering team to review them.
The numbers turned out to be references to archived construction documents.
Documents that had been stored under an obsolete project code.
The investigators located the archive.
Inside were original blueprints, inspection reports, and correspondence.
They showed that Daniel had identified the same financial scheme years earlier.
He had also warned that certain construction changes could create serious safety risks.
His concerns had been ignored.
Victor read the reports in silence.
Then looked at Ben.
"Your father was a brave man."
Ben stared at him.
"Mom says he was."
Victor nodded.
"She was right."
Ben looked down.
"Did you know him?"
"Yes."
"Did you like him?"
Victor swallowed.
"I respected him."
Ben considered.
Then asked, "Why didn't you help him?"
The question struck harder than any accusation Alice had made.
Victor looked at the boy.
"Because I didn't know enough. And because I should have asked more questions."
Ben nodded slowly.
"That's not a very good reason."
Victor's throat tightened.
"No."
He looked down.
"It isn't."
Later, Alice found Victor sitting alone in the kitchen of the temporary apartment.
He was staring at Daniel's notebook.
She sat opposite him.
"Ben didn't mean to hurt you."
Victor shook his head.
"He was right."
Alice studied him.
Then said quietly, "Daniel believed people could change."
Victor looked up.
"Do you?"
She hesitated.
"I believe people can choose differently."
May you like
Victor nodded.
"Then that's what I have to do."
