She claimed several guests would testify that she described their arrangement openly.
Daniel replied that he would not discuss a settlement without Priya.
Brenda stared at him.
“You think you’re the victim because you own a nice house,” she said.
Daniel looked beyond her toward June’s roses.
“I think the people who paid for something you didn’t own deserve the truth.”
Brenda turned and walked home.
Daniel watched until she disappeared behind her front door.
Then he wrote down the time and every sentence he could remember.
Chapter 13: A Different Kind of Witness
Elena’s nephew, Noah Ruiz, was nine years old.
His mother, Marisol, asked that Daniel not contact him directly.
Daniel respected her request.
Instead, he spoke with Marisol during a recorded meeting arranged through their attorneys.
She told him Noah had been excited for the pool party because he had recently learned to swim.
The family saved for weeks to afford the reservation.
Noah’s fall had frightened him enough that he refused to enter any pool afterward.
“He keeps asking whether the woman with the red shirt could have helped him,” Marisol said.
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“I’m sorry he went through that.”
“You didn’t invite us,” she replied.
“I know that now.”
Marisol explained that the hospital bills were manageable but the uncertainty was exhausting.
She wanted to know who had taken their money and why the insurance information was false.
She also wanted Noah to stop believing that adults made promises they never intended to keep.
Daniel understood that her family needed more than a refund.
They needed a clear account of what happened.
Marisol had saved photographs of the missing warning sign and the modified handrail.
She shared them with the investigators.
A photograph taken just before the accident showed the red-shirted attendant leaving through the gate.
Daniel felt a sick sensation as he compared the image with his camera footage.
The timestamps matched.
Chapter 14: The Notice
A certified letter arrived at Daniel’s house on Thursday.
Brenda’s attorney had written that Daniel was interfering with a legitimate business relationship.
The letter demanded that he stop contacting customers and withdraw his complaints.
It also alleged that he had verbally approved the pool rentals during a conversation the previous year.
Daniel carried the letter to Priya without answering it.
She read it twice and placed it beside his incident log.
“This is a claim,” she said.
“It isn’t proof.”
Daniel asked whether it meant Brenda intended to sue.
“She might,” Priya answered.
