My elder sister ripped my work shirt open on the crowded deck of the Oakhaven Yacht Club right in front of six visiting Navy officers.
The emergency harbor board meeting was scheduled for 7 PM. By 6:30, the Oakhaven Town Hall was already overflowing. A massive crowd of local fishermen, dockworkers, and town residents packed the hall, spilling out into the street. The air inside crackled with a mix of anticipation and outrage.
My face, or rather, the silhouette of me, was on every other newspaper clutched in a fisherman’s hand. Eli Parsons sat beside me, his old Navy machinist’s cap in his lap, a grim satisfaction on his face. Marcus Higgins was there too, sitting further back, his presence a quiet act of defiance against Victoria.
Outside the hall, three regional news vans, identifiable by their prominent satellite dishes and logos, had set up broadcast links. Reporters jostled for position, microphones pushed towards anyone willing to speak. The *Oakhaven Weekly Gazette* had detonated a bomb, and the echoes were reaching beyond our small town.
Victoria arrived precisely at 6:58, flanked by her corporate lawyers. She swept into the hall, a forced smile on her face, but her eyes darted nervously at the sea of angry faces. Her expensive suit seemed to shrink under the collective glare.
She took her seat at the head of the long oak table, a posture of defiance that failed to hide the tremor in her hands. One of her lawyers, a slick-haired man in a bespoke suit, leaned over, whispering urgently in her ear.
The chairman of the harbor board, an old lobsterman named Ben Carter, rapped his gavel sharply. The sound was swallowed by the murmuring crowd, which only intensified as Victoria’s presence filled the room.
“Order! Order in the hall!” Ben boomed, his voice raspy. “We are here to address… the recent events.”
He paused, glancing at the stack of *Oakhaven Weekly Gazette* newspapers that had been placed on the board members’ table.
Victoria’s lawyer immediately spoke up, his voice smooth and condescending. “Mr. Chairman, if I may. We object to the inclusion of this sensationalist local slander in this official proceeding. These are unsubstantiated rumors, designed to damage my client’s reputation.”
Victoria nodded vigorously, a thin veneer of confidence returning to her face. “This is nothing more than a desperate attempt by my brother to avoid his legal obligations and smear my good name.”
But the crowd wasn’t buying it. There were shouts, angry murmurs. A dockworker stood up, shaking his copy of the *Gazette*. “Slander? What about the pier, Victoria? Is that slander too?”
Ben Carter slammed his gavel again. “Silence! We will hear all parties. Mr. Dempsey, you have the floor.”
I rose, Victoria’s blackmail letter heavy in my pocket, Eli’s testimony echoing in my ears, and the pier collapse data etched in my mind. The entire town was here, finally ready to listen. Victoria had driven me to this, and now, she would face the unyielding truth she had so desperately tried to bury.
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