Chương 6
Not inside.
Just outside.
Alexander standing near the entrance.
The headline focused on his reputation.
Not Tommy.
Not Rosa.
Not Elena.
Maria showed him the article.
"We need a response."
Alexander read the comments below.
Some people praised him.
Others accused him of creating publicity.
A few questioned whether helping one family was meaningful when thousands needed support.
He understood the criticism.
That was the uncomfortable part.
Some of it was fair.
"What do you want to do?" Maria asked.
Alexander placed the phone down.
"Nothing."
She looked surprised.
"Nothing?"
"Not yet."
"People are making assumptions."
"They always do."
"You usually correct them."
"Because usually I care what they think."
Maria studied him.
"And now?"
Alexander looked toward the garden.
Tommy was outside with Elena, carefully planting a small section of flowers.
"Now I care what happens."
Maria nodded slowly.
Then her expression changed.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"The Martinez housing records."
Alexander waited.
"There is a problem."
"What kind?"
"Rosa's eviction notice."
He frowned.
"She was evicted?"
"Not exactly."
Maria opened the document.
"The notice was filed, but the final action was never completed."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
Alexander looked closer.
A signature appeared at the bottom.
A name he recognized.
"Who is this?"
Maria glanced down.
"James Whitaker."
Alexander went still.
"That can't be right."
"Why?"
"Because James Whitaker runs the housing division for our company."
Maria said nothing.
The room felt colder.
Not because of the information itself.
Because of what it suggested.
A connection between his own company and the family he had only just discovered.
A problem that had existed long before Tommy entered his garden.
And for the first time since this began, Alexander wondered whether he had been searching for the people who failed Tommy's family without realizing he might find some of them much closer than he expected.
Alexander read James Whitaker's name again.
The letters did not change.
He stared at the signature at the bottom of the page, waiting for some detail to appear that would make the situation less uncomfortable.
It did not.
James had been with Morgan Urban Development for fifteen years.
He had been one of the people Alexander trusted most.
Not personally.
Alexander had never been good at that.
But professionally.
James knew the business.
He knew the regulations.
He knew the neighborhoods where their projects were located.
He knew how to make difficult decisions without letting emotions interfere.
That was exactly why Alexander had promoted him.
Now the same qualities he had once admired suddenly looked different.
"Pull everything," Alexander said.
Maria looked up.
"Everything?"
"Every housing case connected to James Whitaker's division over the last five years."
She hesitated.
"That could take time."
"Take the time."
"Should I tell legal?"
Alexander looked at the document.
"Not yet."
Maria noticed the change in his voice.
Not anger.
Something worse.
Disappointment.
"Do you think he did something wrong?"
Alexander folded the paper carefully.
"I think I don't know."
The answer bothered him.
Because uncertainty had become a pattern.
Everyone had been uncertain.
The agencies.
The clinic.
The people who reviewed paperwork.
The people who signed forms.
The people who claimed they had followed procedures.
Everyone had a reason.
Everyone had an explanation.
But Tommy had still needed dirt from a stranger's garden.
That afternoon, Alexander called James.
The man answered on the third ring.
"Alexander."
His voice sounded relaxed.
Almost too relaxed.
"I need to talk to you."
"About what?"
"Rosa Martinez."
There was a pause.
Small.
Almost invisible.
But Alexander heard it.
"Who?"
"Don't do that."
Another pause.
Then James sighed.
"I was hoping this wouldn't reach you."
Alexander felt his stomach tighten.
"What does that mean?"
"It means I know who she is."
The honesty surprised him.
"Come to my office."
"Alexander—"
"Now."
James arrived forty minutes later.
He entered the office carrying the confidence of someone who had walked into that room hundreds of times.
But today, he looked older.
He sat across from Alexander.
Neither man spoke immediately.
The silence was uncomfortable.
James finally broke it.
"You found out about the notice."
"Yes."
"I can explain."
Alexander leaned forward.
"Good."
James looked toward the window.
"Because the explanation matters."
"It always does."
The words came out sharper than Alexander intended.
James noticed.
"You're angry."
"I'm trying not to be."
"Why?"
Alexander looked at him.
"Because if you made a mistake, I need to understand it."
"And if I didn't?"
"Then I need to understand why this happened."
James rubbed his hands together.
A nervous habit Alexander had never noticed before.
Or maybe had never bothered to notice.
"The Martinez apartment was part of an acquisition."
"Your division bought the building?"
"Yes."
"Why was Rosa being evicted?"
James looked uncomfortable.
"She wasn't."
"Then why was there a notice?"
"Because the previous owner had filed one before the sale."
Alexander frowned.
"And nobody stopped it?"
James looked down.
"The process was complicated."
Alexander felt the familiar irritation rise.
"Complicated."
"Yes."
"That word seems to appear every time someone fails."
James looked at him.
"You're blaming me."
"I'm asking questions."
"No."
James shook his head.
"You're looking for someone to blame."
The accusation landed because there was some truth in it.
Alexander had spent days collecting names.
People who missed things.
People who delayed things.
People who failed.
But he had not asked why.
Not until now.
"Then tell me."
James exhaled.
"The building was in terrible condition."
"That doesn't answer the question."
"Rosa was behind on rent."
"How far?"
James looked away.
"Four months."
Alexander went quiet.
"Did anyone talk to her?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
"The property manager."
"What did they say?"
"I don't know."
Alexander stared.
"You don't know?"
James's jaw tightened.
"There are thousands of tenants."
"She was one of them."
"So were thousands of others."
The room became still.
James immediately regretted the sentence.
Alexander saw it.
"So that's how you see people?"
"No."
"But that's how the system sees them."
James leaned back.
May you like
"You think I don't know that?"
"Do you?"
