Chapter 5 - The Warning That Vanished
Margaret led them into the linen closet and closed the door.
“Years ago I worked events for the Caldwell Foundation,” she said. “Emberwood had a refrigeration system Caldwell serviced. During a July heat wave, the alarms kept failing. June wrote reports.”
“Did anyone read them?” Nora asked.
“Elaine did. She tried to arrange a meeting with Richard.”
“Did it happen?”
Margaret twisted the edge of a towel. “Graham said June had taken spare parts. He called her unreliable. Then the reports disappeared.”
Nora swallowed. Her mother used to wake from dreams yelling that somebody had to check the temperatures. Nora had assumed it came from working too many jobs.
“Two residents were hospitalized after the cooling system failed,” Margaret continued. “One family's complaint was settled quietly. June became the story everybody repeated.”
Madison sank onto a hamper. “Why didn't Mom tell me?”
“You were a child. Your mother was frightened.”
“Of Graham?”
“Of what standing up to him would reveal about your father.”
Nora walked out before the tears escaped. She needed proof, not a sympathetic retelling that might collapse under pressure.
At lunch she asked Richard for the original service records.
“Those are corporate documents,” he said.
“She wrote warnings about equipment your company maintained. Surely you can at least check them.”
“You're asking a lot from someone on her second day.”
“I'm asking you to look at what happened under your name.”
He shut his laptop. “I'll authorize a review, but you must stop discussing this with staff.”
“No. I won't spread rumors. That's different.”
Richard's phone buzzed. He read the message and went white.
Nora turned to leave. “What is it?”
He showed her an email from the foundation's attorney. A complaint had been filed against Nora at the staffing agency, accusing her of stealing confidential financial documents.
Attached was a picture of June's photograph on Nora's phone.
May you like
Nora hadn't taken any picture.
The image had been sent from a device labeled Nora Hayes — Staff Account.
