You wasted three months wiping the chin of a dying old woman who isn't even your blood, my boyfriend Julian said, tossing his lanyard onto my desk before walking out of my life.
The diner near the docks was almost empty, the smell of fried fish and stale coffee clinging to the air. Rain still fell, drumming against the large windows that overlooked the gray, churning water. Evelyn Ross, Chief Counsel for the City Ethics Commission, sat across from me in a booth, her usual stoic demeanor softened slightly by the quiet atmosphere. She nursed a lukewarm cup of tea.
“You’re formally suspended, then,” she said, her voice flat, not a question.
I nodded. “They cleared out my locker this morning. And the family just went to the press, accusing me of elder abuse and forgery.”
Evelyn’s eyes, usually guarded, showed a flicker of something close to concern. “Aris is moving fast. Faster than I predicted.” She took a slow sip of her tea. “He doesn’t want the Hallowell Trust property, Maya. He *needs* it.”
This was the twist I was waiting for. “Why?”
She leaned forward, her voice dropping to a near whisper. “His flagship commercial harbor project. The ‘Harborfront Renaissance.’”
I knew the project. It was Aris’s pet initiative, the cornerstone of his mayoral campaign. Glossy brochures were everywhere in City Hall.
“It’s $14 million in the hole,” Evelyn revealed, her gaze steady. “Massive cost overruns. Mismanaged subcontracts. Shady deals with his favored developers.”
My eyes widened. “$14 million?” That was exactly the value of the Hallowell Foundation.
“He needs to acquire and sell Eleanor’s property to cover that gap,” she continued, her voice grim. “Before Friday’s municipal audit. If he can’t, his campaign for Mayor collapses. And it won’t just be a political defeat. It’ll be a federal fraud investigation.”
A sharp, almost predatory glint appeared in her eyes. “He’s been trying to offload that property for months, quietly. To make it look like a private sale. But Eleanor held firm. And now, you do too.”
“He’s using the trust fund as a personal piggy bank to cover his criminal negligence,” I stated, the realization hitting me with sickening clarity.
“Precisely,” Evelyn confirmed, pushing her teacup aside. “He thought Eleanor’s trust, once liquidated by his family proxies, would be a clean way out. A simple land transfer, no paper trail leading back to his overspending.”
She paused, looking out at the rain-swept docks. “He underestimated Eleanor. And he’s underestimating you.”
I felt a surge of cold anger, a new resolve hardening inside me. This wasn’t just about Eleanor’s wishes anymore, or even my reputation. This was about Aris using public funds, public land, and a beloved children’s home to cover up his own corruption.
“So, if I give in,” I asked, “he just walks away clean?”
Evelyn nodded slowly. “And he becomes Mayor. With the harbor project debt secretly paid by Eleanor’s legacy.”
The stakes had just quadrupled. It wasn’t about me winning a personal battle; it was about preventing Aris from destroying Eleanor’s legacy and rising to even greater power on a foundation of fraud. I had to find a way to stop him before Friday.
More Stories
+ There are no comments
Add yours