Part 18
Claire’s anger loosened, but did not leave.
“Which part?” she asked.
“The part that signed the acceptance. The part that believed I could fix it after I got promoted. The part that looked at you in the elevator and assumed you would wait for me.”
Claire lowered her eyes to the termination letter.
“Did you know Arden had documents in her bag?”
“Not until after the evacuation.”
“What documents?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“Mara says board documents.”
“Arden told paramedics the bag contained original records related to the safety review.”
“What safety review?”
Daniel leaned forward. “Her father ordered an internal audit after an insurer raised questions about the terminal’s backup systems. The audit found more than we knew. Arden was bringing the final report to an emergency board session.”
“On paper?”
“Some originals had signatures. She also had an encrypted drive.”
“And the power failed while she was carrying evidence that the power system was unsafe.”
“Yes.”
Claire looked at him. “Coincidence?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’re a terrible liar.”
“I’m not lying.”
“You think someone caused the outage.”
“I think the primary failure started in a feeder panel that had been serviced that afternoon. That can happen accidentally.”
“But?”
“But the security controller went offline thirty seconds before the feeder failed.”
“Could someone do that deliberately?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
Claire held the letter tighter. “Does the company know you suspect this?”
“They know what I put in my report.”
“And now they want you silent.”
“They may want to limit liability. That does not mean someone intentionally caused the outage.”
“You defend them even while they fire you.”
“I am trying not to invent a crime because it would make me feel less guilty.”
Claire sat back.
That answer sounded like the man she knew.
The next morning, Arden Vale came to the hospital.
She arrived without a publicist or attorney. She wore flat shoes, a black dress, and the same cream trench coat, though the torn lining had been repaired. Her left ankle was wrapped. The structured brown handbag hung from her shoulder.
Security called Claire from the lobby.
Claire almost refused the visit.
Then she remembered Arden looking back from Daniel’s arms, eyes open, expression unreadable.
“Send her up.”
Arden entered slowly and stopped just inside the room.
Her red hair was tied at the nape of her neck. Without makeup, she looked younger and more exhausted. A faint bruise darkened one wrist.
“I won’t stay if you don’t want me here,” she said.
Claire pointed toward the chair.
Arden sat. The handbag rested upright between her shoes.
“You kept it,” Claire said.
Arden followed her gaze. “Yes.”
“What was inside?”
“Records showing that Aurora Meridian deferred critical repairs and altered the language of an internal safety audit.”
Claire waited.
Arden placed both hands around the handle of the bag. “My father did not know the full extent of it. He knew costs were being postponed. He did not know inspection findings had been rewritten.”
“Who rewrote them?”
“The chief operating officer approved the changes. Legal reviewed them. Several managers signed.”
“Daniel signed.”
“Yes.”
The directness of the answer hurt.
“Did he know the audit had been altered?”
“No. His signature was on a temporary operating document based on the revised findings.”
“Convenient.”
“For the company, yes.”
“For Daniel.”
Arden looked at her. “He made a compromise. The company gave him incomplete information, but no one forced his hand onto the page.”
Claire studied her face. “You sound like Mara.”
“I have spent most of my life around people who believe explaining a decision erases it.”
“Your father owns the terminal.”
“Yes.”
“Did Daniel know who you were when he carried you?”
“He called me Ms. Vale after he lifted the panel.”
“So yes.”
“Yes.”
“Did you ask him to save you?”
“No.”
“Did someone order him to?”
“No.”
“Did you tell him to leave me?”
Arden’s fingers tightened around the handle.
“No.”
“What did you say?”
“I said I could walk.”
“Could you?”
“I believed I could.”
“Could you?”
“No.”
Claire looked toward the window. “Why did you keep your arm around him?”
“He told me to lock it over his shoulder so he could keep one hand free near the live cable.”
“And the handbag?”
“I would not leave it.”
“Why?”
“Because the audit originals were inside, and the building’s digital records had already begun disappearing.”
Claire turned back. “Disappearing?”
“Maintenance logs were deleted the week before the outage. Email archives became inaccessible the morning of the board meeting. That is why I printed the signed records and brought the drive.”
“Did someone cause the power failure to destroy them?”
“I don’t know. The drive was not connected to the terminal network. The paper could not be erased remotely.”
“But you were inside the building.”
“Yes.”
“Were you afraid someone was trying to hurt you?”
Arden considered the question. “I was afraid someone wanted the meeting not to happen.”
“That isn’t the same thing.”
“No.”
Claire watched the pulse of the monitor beside her bed.
“What do you want from me?”
“Nothing.”
“People like you don’t come to hospitals wanting nothing.”
Arden accepted the insult without visible offense. “I came because the company offered your husband a separation agreement.”
“How do you know?”
“My father told me.”
“Did he approve it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He believes Daniel’s report creates unnecessary speculation about the outage. He also believes the public controversy threatens the railway’s financing.”
“Does he believe Daniel failed?”
“He believes Daniel is replaceable.”
Claire looked at the bag. “And you?”
“I believe your husband saved fourteen people in the east passage. I believe he returned for you as soon as the path was clear. I also believe his earlier signature helped the terminal remain open when it should have been partially closed.”
“You have a talent for making everyone guilty.”
“In my family, accuracy is often mistaken for disloyalty.”
May you like
“Are you going public?”
Arden’s composure changed. Not much. Her shoulders lowered a fraction.
