👉 Previous Decision: You chose Option A – Lure Arthur to a private, direct confrontation inside the vacant dispatch archive room.
“Arthur, a word.” My voice was calm, cutting through the low hum of the empty dispatch center. “About Chloe’s medical files. I think you left something behind.”
He turned from the breakroom coffee machine, a polite, practiced smile on his face. “Maya, what a surprise. Everything’s in order, I assure you.”
“Is it?” I held up the flash drive. “I believe this contains more order than you intended.”
His smile vanished. His eyes darted to the empty hallway. “What are you talking about?”
“The archive room,” I said, gesturing towards the heavy, metal door. “We can discuss it there. Privately.”
He hesitated, then followed me, his jaw tightening. The moment the door clicked shut behind us, the room became a tomb of silence.
“You really think you can blackmail me, Maya?” Arthur’s voice was low, laced with contempt. “You’re a dispatcher. I’m an executive.”
“I think you’re a criminal,” I retorted, my voice unwavering. “And I have the proof.” I plugged the flash drive into a small projector I had set up earlier. Email chains, ledger entries, fabricated liens—they all flashed on the wall.
Arthur’s face blanched. “That’s… that’s fabricated,” he stammered, running a hand through his hair. “A setup.”
Just then, the archive room door creaked open. Inspector David Novak, the station internal auditor, stepped in, a thick binder under his arm. His face was grim.
“It’s no setup, Mr. Pendelton,” Novak said, his voice resonating in the small room. He held up a printout. “These are audit logs from your agency. We’ve been tracking irregular insurance payouts for months.”
Novak began to read, his words a hammer blow with each syllable: “On October 12th, a payment of 78,000 dollars for ‘specialized respiratory equipment’ for Ms. Chloe Lin, never delivered. Signed by you, verified by Douglas Krenshaw.”
Arthur stood rigid, his face pale, his empire crumbling with every word. The forged insurance signatures, the illicit wire transfers, the carefully orchestrated financial sabotage—all laid bare.
His defense shattered into a thousand pieces.
➡️ Read Chapter 9 to continue the story
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