Chapter 10 - Smoke and Ashes
The red and blue flashing lights of fire trucks painted the damp asphalt outside the dilapidated apartment building on West Maple Street in eerie, shifting hues. Thick, black smoke billowed out from the shattered kitchen window of Unit 4B, staining the fading brick facade a greasy charcoal black.
Arthur Vance’s luxury sedan pulled up directly behind a fire battalion chief’s command vehicle. Before the car even came to a complete stop, Leo flung the rear door open, ignoring Arthur’s warning shouts, and sprinted across the wet pavement toward the burning building.
"Leo, wait!" Arthur ordered sharply, stepping out of the car with long, purposeful strides and catching the boy just as he reached the police tape blocking the entryway.
"Our drawings! Mom's photo album!" Leo screamed, fighting furiously against Arthur’s grip, hot tears streaming down his face. "Everything we have is in there! Let me go!"
A tall, soot-stained firefighter in heavy yellow gear stepped out of the building, lifting his heavy oxygen mask away from his mouth as he coughed into his elbow. He looked over at Arthur and Leo, shaking his head grimly.
"Total loss in the kitchen, kid," the firefighter said, his voice deep and sympathetic. "The living room and bedrooms are mostly smoke-damaged, but the structure is still standing. We managed to contain it before it spread to the rest of the floor."
"Was it an accident?" Arthur demanded, keeping a firm, grounding grip on Leo’s trembling shoulders.
The firefighter spat out a glob of soot and wiped his brow with a grime-covered glove. "Not a chance. Our arson investigator found a broken glass bottle soaked in lighter fluid right on the kitchen floor, right where the medical team found those pill bottles earlier today. Someone wanted to burn this place down to the ground—and they wanted to destroy every piece of evidence left inside."
Leo stopped struggling, going entirely limp in Arthur’s arms. The reality of what had just happened settled over him like a heavy, suffocating blanket. "Mr. Henderson," Leo whispered, his voice trembling with a terrifying mix of grief and pure, burning rage. "He said we'd regret it. He said nobody cares about trash like us."
"He’s going to regret every breath he takes," Arthur said coldly, his voice devoid of any warmth, carrying the terrifying weight of a billionaire industrialist whose wrath had just been unlocked. He pulled out his phone and tapped a single speed-dial button. "Get me the state police commissioner on a priority encrypted line right now. I want every security camera within a five-block radius of West Maple Street subpoenaed before midnight."
The firefighter watched Arthur with a mixture of awe and caution. "You're moving fast, mister."
"Fast is the only way to beat a criminal who thinks he's smarter than the law," Arthur replied sharply. He looked down at Leo, softening his tone just a fraction. "Come on, Leo. Let's get back to the hospital. Your sister is waiting, and we have a very important visitor coming to see you both in the morning."
"Who?" Leo asked numbly, staring at the thick smoke still curling out of his old bedroom window.
May you like
"Someone who saw your story online," Arthur said mysteriously, opening the car door for the boy. "And she wants to help you rebuild your lives from the ground up."
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