Chapter 7
Miles away from the gleaming towers of City Hall, Clara Vance sat at the wobbly wooden kitchen table of her small, second-floor apartment in an older, working-class neighborhood. The room smelled faintly of chamomile tea and old paper. Sunlight filtered through lace curtains, casting soft geometric patterns across the linoleum floor. Her left side still throbbed with a dull, persistent ache, but she refused to take stronger pain medication; she needed her mind sharp. On the counter lay her yellow vest, neatly folded, with the smudge of gray asphalt scrubbed as clean as possible.
There was a soft knock at her front door. Clara froze. She lived a quiet life, rarely receiving visitors outside of her landlord or the occasional neighbor borrowing sugar. She walked slowly to the door, peering through the peephole. Standing in the dim hallway was not a police officer or a reporter, but Mayor Harrison, dressed down in a simple gray sweater and slacks, looking remarkably ordinary yet out of place in the modest apartment building.
Clara unlocked the deadbolt and pulled the door open a few inches, her expression guarded. "Mr. Mayor. You're a long way from downtown."
"May I come in, Ms. Vance?" Harrison asked, his voice soft, carrying none of the booming authority he projected from the podium. He held a small paper bag from a local bakery.
Clara hesitated, then stepped back, opening the door wider. "It’s not much, but it’s clean," she said, gesturing toward the kitchen table.
Harrison stepped inside, carefully closing the door behind him. He placed the bakery bag on the table. "Julian Vance has been arrested," Harrison said immediately, cutting through any polite small talk. "He’s facing criminal charges for assault. And we've initiated a full audit of his corporate dealings. He won't be working in this city again."
May you like
Clara pulled out a chair and sat down, resting her hands on the worn wood. She looked at the mayor, searching his face for hidden motives. "You didn't have to come all the way out here to tell me that, Mr. Mayor. A phone call would have sufficed."
"A phone call wouldn't have been enough," Harrison replied, pulling out the opposite chair and sitting down. "I came because I wanted to apologize properly. And because I need to ask you something. When I looked at the security footage, I saw a woman who was brutally attacked simply for doing her job. But I also saw a woman who didn't cry out, didn't panic, and kept her dignity intact. This city is built by people like you, Ms. Vance. And right now, the people running it have forgotten that."
