The question confirmed that she knew more about the old project than she had admitted.
I refused to answer.
She said the records were not what I thought and that Grant Halden had been using the Voss family for years.
I asked whether she was trying to warn me or frighten me.
She looked toward the parking lot before replying.
She said she no longer knew the difference.
Then she walked away without another word.
Priya came outside and asked whether I was all right.
I told her I was not, but I had done the right thing by keeping the conversation short.
We saved the security footage and wrote down what had been said while the memory was fresh.
For the first time, I saw Elise not only as a person who had harmed me but as someone afraid of the machinery she had helped build.
That did not make me trust her.
It made me wonder who was still giving orders.
Chapter 28: The Signature on the Laboratory Report
The independent engineer, Dr. Nina Calder, spent several days reviewing my father’s notebook and the surviving Ridgeway plans.
She met with Simone and me in a conference room and began by explaining what the documents could not prove.
The photographs alone could not establish the condition of every part of the foundation.
The handwritten notes were valuable context but did not replace authenticated laboratory results.
Then she showed us a letter from the materials laboratory that had been folded inside the notebook.
The letter referred to a revised test summary prepared at the request of the project developer.
A second page contained a handwritten objection from my father stating that the revision omitted two failed samples.
Nina said the omitted results could have affected the engineering decision if the samples were representative and properly collected.
She emphasized that additional investigation would be needed before drawing conclusions about the entire structure.
I listened carefully because I did not want anger to turn uncertainty into certainty.
Simone asked whether the papers had any bearing on the modern property transaction.
Nina said a purchaser who relied on old certifications would need to know whether those certifications were complete and accurate.
The city might also require new testing before demolition or reuse.
Then Simone noticed the name at the bottom of the revised summary.
The document had been transmitted by a consultant named Gregory Halden.
I recognized the surname before she said anything.
Grant Halden’s father had worked in construction finance during the Ridgeway project.
Gregory died years ago, but his son’s firm now stood to benefit from several redevelopment contracts connected to the same neighborhood.
