Chapter 14 - Forty-Six Families
Before the board meeting, I went to Harbor House.
The complex stood on the edge of the city, four brick buildings around a courtyard where the snow had turned gray. Temporary fencing blocked the entrance. A sign promised “Safe, Affordable Homes Coming Soon,” but the windows were dark and several stairwell doors had been chained shut.
A mother named Denise Carter met me in the motel lobby where the families had been relocated. Her son, Malik, wore a superhero cape over his pajamas. He held a toy fire truck with one missing wheel.
“You’re the woman on TV,” Denise said. She didn’t sound angry. That was somehow worse. “They told us the money ran out because the foundation had to investigate theft.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Are you the one who stole it?”
“No.” I knelt so Malik wouldn’t have to look up at me. “But I’m going to help prove where it went.”
Denise watched me for a long moment. “My husband died last year. We were supposed to move into Harbor House before winter. I used the last of our savings on a storage unit because I thought we’d have a real place by December.” She looked at Malik. “He thinks Santa can find us anywhere. I don’t know how to tell him that isn’t the same as having a home.”
I promised only what I could control: I would push for emergency repairs, an independent contractor, and public reporting of every dollar. Then I asked Denise if she would speak at the hearing. She said yes, but only if no one used her son’s face to sell a story.
At the site, an engineer hired by Bell documented exposed wires and a fire door that opened onto a blocked corridor. He estimated that repairs could begin within days if the court froze the diverted funds and the foundation released its emergency reserve.
That evening, I wrote a letter to the board. I didn’t threaten them. I gave them a choice: preserve the foundation and cooperate with investigators, or protect Eleanor and watch the entire company collapse under the evidence.
At 9:00 p.m., a courier delivered a response to Martha’s office. It was a single page, signed by Eleanor.
You have mistaken inheritance for power, Avery. You have no idea how many people will lose everything if you continue.
Martha read it twice. “She’s frightened.”
“No,” I said. “She’s warning me that she’ll hurt other people to stop me.”
May you like
My phone rang. Denise was crying.
Someone had broken into the motel room where she and Malik were staying.
