Chapter 12 - The Man Jack Trusted for Seventeen Years
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Jack looked at the photograph for a long time.
We were sitting in Thomas Reed's office, with Elena beside me.
The image showed Jennifer, David, and Marcus outside the Pier 17 warehouse.
Jack's jaw tightened.
“Where did this come from?”
“An anonymous email.”
“Can you verify it?”
“Not yet.”
He handed the photograph to Thomas.
“Find out whether the timestamp and location can be authenticated.”
Thomas nodded.
Then Jack turned toward me.
“What did Lena Ortiz tell you?”
I explained everything.
The missing housing funds.
The incomplete repairs.
The invoices from suspicious companies.
And Marcus's visit.
Jack listened without interrupting.
When I finished, he leaned back.
“Marcus told me the Pier 17 grants were on schedule.”
“Apparently they weren't.”
“No.”
I studied him.
“Did you really have no idea?”
Jack's eyes met mine.
“I approved the funding. I didn't personally process the contractor payments.”
“That's convenient.”
Thomas shifted uncomfortably.
Jack didn't appear offended.
“No,” he said. “It's a failure of oversight.”
His answer surprised me.
He continued.
“I put someone I trusted in charge of operations. I accepted reports I should have questioned.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
“Preserve the records, bring in independent reviewers, and cooperate with the appropriate authorities.”
I stared at him.
“That doesn't sound like the man people describe.”
His expression hardened slightly.
“Don't mistake this for innocence, Clare. I've made decisions in my life I'm not proud of.”
“Are you going to tell me what they were?”
“Not all of them.”
“Then we're going to have problems.”
Jack watched me for several seconds.
Then he nodded.
“Probably.”
Strangely, I respected that answer more than another polished promise.
Thomas returned to the financial documents.
“There is a complication.”
He highlighted one approval record.
“Marcus's authorization appears on this payment.”
I leaned closer.
“And?”
Thomas pointed to a second authorization.
“This one was entered under Jack's executive credentials.”
The room fell silent.
I looked at Jack.
“Did you approve it?”
“No.”
“Could someone else use your credentials?”
Jack's expression darkened.
“Under certain circumstances.”
Thomas looked concerned.
“Jack, we need to review internal access records immediately.”
Jack nodded.
Then his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
Marcus Vale.
Jack answered on speaker.
“Marcus.”
“Boss, we have a problem.”
“What kind?”
“Someone's been asking questions around Pier 17.”
Jack looked directly at me.
“Who?”
“A woman named Clare Martinez.”
I stopped breathing.
Marcus continued.
“She visited the housing office this morning. I think David's wife knows more than she's supposed to.”
Jack's voice remained calm.
“What would you like me to do about that?”
Marcus hesitated.
“I think we need to handle her before she starts talking.”
The words seemed to freeze the room.
Jack's expression became terrifyingly still.
“Handle her how?”
A long silence.
Then Marcus laughed nervously.
“You know what I mean, boss.”
Jack didn't smile.
“No, Marcus.”
He leaned forward.
“Explain it to me.”
The call went dead.
I stared at the phone.
May you like
For the first time since entering the Rain Room, I was genuinely afraid.
Because the man Jack had trusted for seventeen years apparently considered me a problem that needed to disappear.
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