Chapter 2 - THE COMPANY UNDER SCOTT’S NAME
Scott denied everything before Daniel even confronted him.
At 7:15 the next morning, he arrived at the hospital carrying an oversized bouquet and wearing the navy blazer he reserved for television interviews.
Patricia walked beside him with a gift bag, fresh makeup, and an expression of wounded concern.
Hospital security stopped them outside Lily’s floor.
Daniel met them near the elevators.
“Daniel,” Patricia cried, reaching for him. “Why won’t you answer us?”
He stepped back.
“You said Lily was not your problem.”
Patricia lowered her voice as two reporters passed.
“I was upset.”
“You were inconvenienced.”
Scott held up the flowers. “Can we not do this here? Lily needs family.”
“She needed family before the news vans arrived.”
Scott’s smile tightened.
“I didn’t understand how serious it was.”
“I sent you a photograph of her after brain surgery.”
“I was handling a crisis at the restaurant.”
“What crisis?”
Scott hesitated.
Daniel already knew.
Fire investigators had searched records overnight. The company responsible for the gas-line maintenance was Cascade Mechanical Solutions.
Scott owned sixty percent.
The remaining forty percent belonged to Patricia through a family trust.
Daniel showed him the document on his phone.
Scott stared.
“That company is inactive.”
“It billed Westbridge High School three weeks ago.”
“I don’t manage daily operations.”
“Your signature approved the inspection.”
Patricia moved between them.
“This is not the time for business accusations.”
“Someone sabotaged the school.”
Scott glanced toward the cameras at the end of the corridor.
“You need to stop saying that.”
“Why?”
“Because people will misunderstand.”
Daniel understood immediately.
Scott was not frightened that Daniel might accuse him falsely.
He was frightened that someone might listen.
Senator Chase’s security detail approached. Rebecca walked with them, dressed plainly but carrying the unmistakable authority of public office.
Scott’s posture changed.
“Senator,” he said warmly. “I’m Lily’s uncle. We’re devastated by what happened.”
Rebecca did not take his extended hand.
“I understand your company serviced the damaged line.”
Scott’s face paled.
“Only administratively. I’m sure this was a subcontractor issue.”
“Federal investigators will determine that.”
Patricia smiled nervously. “We are simply grateful Owen is safe.”
Rebecca looked directly at her.
“Your granddaughter nearly died.”
Patricia’s smile disappeared.
Hospital security escorted both visitors downstairs after Daniel refused consent for them to enter Lily’s room.
Scott shouted from the elevator that Daniel was destroying the family.
Daniel watched the doors close.
For the first time, the accusation did not frighten him.
The family had already been destroyed by years of one-sided loyalty. He was simply refusing to hide the damage.
Later that morning, investigators questioned Daniel about Cascade Mechanical.
He explained that he had loaned Scott the original twenty thousand dollars to open a restaurant. Scott used part of it to purchase a small maintenance company from a customer.
The company grew quickly despite Scott having no technical background.
Patricia often praised him as a natural businessman.
Daniel had never asked how the contracts appeared.
The lead investigator, Mara Cole, placed three invoices before him.
Cascade billed Westbridge for safety inspections that never occurred. The signatures of two technicians were forged.
One technician had died eight months earlier.
Another had been living in Arizona during the inspection dates.
“Who benefits from damaging the school?” Daniel asked.
Mara showed him an insurance document.
Westbridge’s gym was scheduled for demolition and redevelopment if declared unsafe.
The replacement contract had already been tentatively awarded to Mercer Urban Renewal.
Scott’s second company.
The proposed project was worth sixty-four million dollars.
The explosion would have destroyed evidence of falsified inspection records while accelerating the redevelopment deal.
“But there were children inside,” Daniel whispered.
“The alarm was supposed to activate thirty minutes earlier,” Mara said. “The after-school group should have been gone.”
“Supposed to?”
“Someone disabled the alarm-monitoring connection.”
The plan may have been intended as controlled property damage.
That did not make it less criminal.
It meant the perpetrators believed schedules mattered more than lives.
Lily’s intervention ruined everything.
At noon, she awoke long enough to speak with investigators.
She remembered smelling gas two days earlier and telling the assistant principal.
“He said maintenance checked it,” she whispered.
“Did anyone speak to you afterward?” Mara asked.
Lily closed her eyes, thinking.
“Uncle Scott.”
Daniel’s heart stopped.
“What did he say?”
“He told me old buildings smell strange and that I shouldn’t scare people.”
“When?”
“Yesterday morning. Before school.”
Scott knew Lily had noticed the gas.
He had personally told her to stay quiet.
Mara asked one final question.
“Did he know you had basketball practice?”
“Yes. He asked what time it ended.”
Daniel walked into the hallway before his daughter could see his face.
Scott had not simply ignored the risk.
He had confirmed Lily would be inside the building.
Then Daniel received an email from his bank.
Scott had missed payments on the twenty-thousand-dollar loan for years, but the debt suddenly showed as fully paid.
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The payment came from an account in Lily’s name.
Someone had stolen money from his injured daughter to repay Scott’s debt.
