Chapter 16 - The Paper Trail
By breakfast, Sloane's story was online. It didn't say Vanessa was guilty of fraud. It reported the evidence, the residents' accounts, the disputed signatures, and the emergency order. Mrs. Heller's uncut video was attached with her permission.
The cropped clip still circulated, but now people could watch the seconds Vanessa had wanted erased.
Grace found me beside the hotel coffee machine.
"My staff wants to know if you're okay," she said.
"Ask me after I've slept."
"They also want you to know you're not the only person they've threatened. Three servers have written statements."
One described being ordered to remove Iris's name from the attendance sheet. Another had heard Pike ask the photographers whether their cameras were ready before Vanessa approached me. The third had seen an assistant carry the disputed resolution to Elliot.
No single statement told the whole story. Together they gave investigators a timeline.
Monroe called that afternoon. Pike had met with police and retained a lawyer. Investigators were reviewing evidence of Iris's confinement and seeking financial records through legal process.
"Don't contact him," she warned.
"I don't intend to."
I spent Sunday giving a formal statement. Elliot's attorneys announced an independent review and his temporary removal from foundation decisions. He also resigned from the committee overseeing the housing program.
That evening, a woman knocked at my apartment. She was small, with silver hair and a canvas bag tucked under her arm.
"Lena? I'm Marlene. From Old Harbor."
May you like
I hadn't seen her in five years.
She took out a folded paper and said, "I kept the letter they made me sign about you. It wasn't true."
