Chapter 5 - Betrayal from Within
The next morning, chaos broke out at the offices of Whitman Safeguard.
Claire arrived to find the local building inspectors waiting in her lobby. They were holding a stack of official reports alleging that her firm had used substandard, non-fire-resistant materials in the restoration of the historic downtown library—their flagship project.
"This is impossible," Claire told the lead inspector. "I personally reviewed the safety certificates for every structural beam we installed."
"The certificates are forged, Ms. Whitman," the inspector said grimly. "And they were uploaded to the state database from a secure terminal inside your own office."
Claire’s world spun. A betrayal from within her own team. She spent the next three hours reviewing the security logs with Daniel.
"It was Marcus," Daniel said, pointing to the login records of their chief structural engineer, a man Claire had trusted implicitly. "He logged into the database at 3:00 AM last night. He’s the only one besides you who had access to the material vault."
"Why would Marcus do this?" Claire asked, her voice cracking with emotion. "I saved his career. I gave him a partnership."
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"We found his bank statements," Daniel said gently. "Thorne bought off his gambling debts. A half-million-dollar wire transfer from a shell company in Panama. But that's not the worst of it, Claire. Marcus didn't just forge the documents. He actually swapped the fire-suppression valves in the library with defective models. The building is a ticking time bomb."
"We have to stop the opening ceremony," Claire said, grabbing her coat. "The library is full of children and historical researchers right now!"
