Chapter 4 - THE WALL THAT BURNED FROM THE INSIDE
My father had spent nineteen years trying to prove fourteen people did not die by accident.
And now, because I had been standing six feet away from a business dinner, the evidence was finally beginning to surface.
That fact made me angry.
Not proud.
Angry.
Because Dad should have been listened to the first time.
Gabriel agreed to meet us in Santa Fe.
I almost refused to go.
My brother, Ethan, still needed help getting to therapy twice a week.
My rent was overdue.
Aurelia had already warned me that missing another shift could cost me my job.
Real life did not pause because billionaires discovered old conspiracies.
When I told Nolan, he looked genuinely confused.
"You still plan to work this weekend?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because my landlord doesn't accept historical corporate scandal as payment."
He stared.
Then reached for his wallet.
I immediately raised one hand.
"Don't."
He stopped.
"I'm not taking money from you."
"I was going to offer to cover your lost wages."
"Exactly."
He looked irritated.
"Claire, this investigation directly concerns my family."
"And my father."
Silence.
Then Rachel intervened.
"There are legitimate ways to reimburse witness-related costs without creating personal leverage."
I looked at her.
She smiled.
"That's why attorneys exist."
Nolan nodded.
"Fine."
I looked at him.
"You're learning."
"Painfully."
That almost made me smile.
We flew to Santa Fe under arrangements that kept me legally independent from Pierce North.
Gabriel met us inside the original Ortega workshop.
It smelled like cedar, leather, oil, and history.
Craftsmen worked at old wooden benches.
No automation.
No production line.
Every belt, boot, and saddle moved through human hands.
Suddenly, the contract clauses made even more sense.
Nolan looked around.
Quietly.
Respectfully.
Gabriel noticed.
"So now you see what you wanted to destroy."
Nolan didn't defend himself.
"Yes."
That answer surprised Gabriel.
Then he led us into the oldest part of the building.
A stone wall ran along the rear workshop.
Black marks still stained one corner.
"The fire started here."
I ran my fingers near the surface without touching it.
My conservation training returned automatically.
Different mortar.
Newer brick repair.
Uneven patching.
"This section was rebuilt."
Gabriel nodded.
"After the fire."
I looked closer.
"No."
Everyone turned.
I pointed toward the lower stones.
"The repair pattern underneath predates the burn marks."
Nolan frowned.
"Meaning?"
"The wall was altered before the fire."
Gabriel's face hardened.
Exactly what my father's note suggested.
We reviewed his photographs.
The pattern matched.
Blackridge Industrial had opened the wall, installed something, then sealed it.
Twelve hours later, the building burned.
Gabriel unlocked a storage cabinet and removed the page Dad had mailed him before dying.
The document contained a diagram.
Behind the wall was a narrow mechanical channel connected to the old freight tunnel.
Dad had written:
Possible accelerant delivery path.
My stomach turned.
Someone could have started the fire without entering the workshop.
Then Gabriel brought out another box.
Inside were personal effects recovered after the fire.
Watches.
Keys.
A scorched leather notebook.
And one metal company badge.
Blackridge Industrial.
Nolan picked it up.
The employee name remained partially visible.
MARTIN VALE.
Nolan dropped it.
I looked at him.
"You know that name."
His face had gone white.
"Martin Vale was my father's driver."
Gabriel stared.
Nolan swallowed.
May you like
Then whispered:
"He died in the same car crash that killed Claire's parents."
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