Chapter 12 - THE NIGHT THE EVIDENCE BURNEDOrange flames lit the night sky above the storage facility.
By the time Caroline and Vincent arrived at the perimeter, firefighters had already contained most of the blaze.
Police vehicles lined the road.
An ambulance waited nearby.
Caroline felt her stomach tighten.
"Was anyone inside?"
Vincent approached a police officer.
"Excuse me. Do you know whether anyone was injured?"
The officer nodded toward the building.
"One employee was checked by paramedics for smoke exposure. Everyone has been accounted for."
Caroline exhaled in relief.
"Thank God."
Vincent placed a hand gently against her back.
"You all right?"
She nodded.
"I just keep thinking about the records."
He looked toward the damaged building.
"So am I."
A fire investigator approached the police officers.
Several firefighters were opening the storage units to check for remaining hot spots.
Nobody yet knew how the fire had started.
Caroline watched as smoke drifted through the broken roof.
For months, she had believed that careful records could establish the truth.
Now boxes containing potentially important evidence were lying beneath water, smoke, and debris.
She looked at Vincent.
"What if everything is gone?"
He was quiet for a moment.
"Then we'll find another way."
The following morning, Leah called a meeting.
The original paper records had suffered extensive damage.
But the auditors had already preserved electronic copies of many relevant invoices, contracts, and payment approvals.
Priya had also maintained independent project records.
"We haven't lost everything," Leah explained.
Caroline felt relieved.
"What about the documents that weren't scanned?"
"We'll identify gaps and look for copies held by banks, suppliers, accountants, and other parties."
Vincent nodded.
"Good."
Leah continued.
"The fire remains under investigation. We should not assume we know the cause."
Caroline appreciated that reminder.
The timing was suspicious.
But suspicion was not proof.
Meanwhile, rumors spread quickly.
Some employees believed Martin's associates had arranged the fire.
Others suggested that the documents had been destroyed to protect Vincent.
A few online commentators even blamed Caroline.
She ignored them.
Instead, she focused on the work.
Over the next two days, Caroline organized the missing-document list.
She compared filenames, dates, suppliers, and project references.
She also created a tracking system so the investigators could see which documents had been recovered and which still needed to be located.
Leah reviewed her work.
"This is useful."
Caroline smiled.
"Thank you."
"Have you considered formal training in project controls or compliance?"
"I'm taking a business administration course."
"Good. Keep going."
Caroline looked surprised.
Leah continued.
"Attention to detail is important, but so is learning the standards that make your work reliable. You have the first quality. The second can be developed."
Caroline nodded.
"I intend to."
That evening, Daniel found her studying.
He sat beside her.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Why do people lie when they know they might get caught?"
Caroline thought about it.
"Different reasons, I suppose. Fear. Greed. Shame. Sometimes people lie because they think the truth will cost them something."
Daniel considered that.
"Doesn't lying cost them more?"
"Often."
He nodded thoughtfully.
Then he opened his robotics notebook.
"I made a mistake in our team's program today."
Caroline smiled.
"What happened?"
"The robot kept turning left."
"Why?"
"I entered the wrong measurement."
"Did you fix it?"
"Yes."
"Then that's part of learning."
Daniel hesitated.
"At first, I wanted to blame the sensor."
Caroline laughed softly.
"What changed your mind?"
He looked at her.
"I remembered what you said about being honest."
Caroline felt warmth spread through her chest.
"And what happened when you told your team?"
"They helped me fix it."
She smiled.
"Exactly."
Daniel looked pleased.
Then he grew serious.
"Are we going to be okay?"
Caroline reached for his hand.
"Whatever happens with the company, we're going to make decisions together. You're not alone."
He nodded.
After Daniel left, Caroline sat quietly.
She had spent so much time worrying about providing for the children that she sometimes forgot they were also learning from the way she handled difficulty.
They were watching her choices.
Her anger.
Her honesty.
Her willingness to admit uncertainty.
And perhaps those lessons would matter more than any expensive gift she could ever give them.
The following afternoon, Frank Donovan met with Naomi and Leah.
The storage facility's access system had preserved entry records despite the fire.
The investigators were reviewing those records alongside camera footage and other evidence.
Frank opened a report.
"Someone entered the storage section after normal business hours."
Naomi leaned forward.
"Do we know who?"
"The access system recorded a credential associated with Walker Development Group."
Vincent frowned.
"Which employee?"
Frank hesitated.
"There's an unusual problem."
"What?"
"The credential belongs to someone who wasn't supposed to have access to those records."
Caroline felt uneasy.
"Who?"
Frank turned the laptop toward them.
A name appeared.
Grace Walker.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Vincent stared at the screen.
"That's my mother's name."
Frank nodded.
"Yes."
Vincent shook his head.
"She wasn't there."
Caroline immediately remembered the evening of the fire.
Mama Grace had been at the mansion with the children.
She had helped Blessing practice her song before dinner.
Caroline herself had spoken with her shortly before leaving for the storage facility.
"She was at home," Caroline said.
Frank nodded.
"We're not treating the credential record as proof she entered. Credentials can be misused. We need to determine whether the access was authorized and who actually used it."
Vincent looked relieved.
But Frank had not finished.
"There's another issue."
He displayed an older access record.
"The same credential was used several times during the past three years."
Vincent frowned.
"For what?"
"Access to archived Cedar Row documents."
Caroline looked at him.
"Did Mama Grace ever review those files?"
Vincent shook his head.
"Not that I know of."
Frank opened another page.
"This is a document access request from March 2023."
Caroline recognized the date immediately.
The month when the community trust had supposedly approved the disputed land transfer.
At the bottom of the request was a handwritten signature.
Grace Walker.
Vincent stared.
Then he whispered, "Mom, what were you doing?"
At that moment, Mama Grace appeared at the conference room doorway.
She had come looking for Vincent.
But when she saw the document on the screen, her expression changed.
Her eyes filled with tears.
May you like
And she said something that made everyone turn toward her.
"Vincent, there's something I should have told you three years ago."
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