MY HUSBAND LET HIS FAMILY THROW ME IN A FREEZING POOL TO HUMILIATE ME—HE DIDN’T KNOW I OWNED THEIR COMPANY AND WAS ABOUT TO EVICT THEM ALL / Chapter 18 / 20

Chapter 18 - Unearthing SkeletonsThe rain was coming down in sheets, turning the city streets into slick, black mirrors. I sat in the back of my tinted SUV, parked discreetly across the street from a rundown dive bar on the edge of the industrial district.

David sat beside me, his laptop glowing in the dim light of the car. "Are you sure about this, Megan? If Thorne finds out we’re contacting his former employees, he could file a gag-order injunction."

"Let him try," I said, keeping my eyes on the entrance of the bar. "The documents the PI found show that Thorne’s flagship property—the billion-dollar 'Paradise Cove' residential complex—was built on a decommissioned chemical dumping ground. The soil toxicity reports were completely falsified."

"And Arthur Penhaligon was the lead soil engineer," David finished, pulling up a photo on his screen. It showed a haggard, older man with sunken eyes. "He was fired right after the permits were approved. Disappeared off the grid. Until now."

"He’s my golden goose," I murmured.

Through the rain-streaked window, I saw the door to the bar swing open. A man in a cheap raincoat stumbled out, lighting a cigarette with trembling hands. It was Arthur.

I grabbed my umbrella and stepped out of the warm SUV into the freezing rain. I didn't send security. I needed to do this myself.

"Arthur Penhaligon," I said, stepping under the awning of the bar.

The man jumped, dropping his cigarette into a puddle. He looked at me, his eyes darting around like a hunted animal. "Who are you? I don't have any money."

"I'm not here for your money, Arthur. I’m Megan Vance, CEO of Apex Development," I said, keeping my voice calm but authoritative. "I want to talk about Marcus Thorne. And I want to talk about the arsenic levels beneath Paradise Cove."

Arthur went dead pale. "I... I don't know what you're talking about. I signed an NDA. He said he would ruin me."

"He already ruined you, Arthur," I said softly, looking at his frayed coat and the despair in his eyes. "He paid you off to sign fraudulent documents, then blacklisted you from the industry so you could never speak out. He’s doing the same thing to me right now. But I have the resources to protect you. And I have the power to take him down."

Arthur shook his head violently. "You don't know him! Thorne is a monster! If I testify, he’ll have me killed!"

"If you don't testify, the families living in Paradise Cove will start getting sick," I said, playing my final card. I reached into my trench coat and pulled out a manila envelope, handing it to him. "This is a cashier's check for five hundred thousand dollars. It’s an advance on your consulting fee for Apex Development. I have a safe house prepped, and the best legal team in the country ready to grant you federal whistleblower immunity."

Arthur stared at the envelope, his hands shaking. He looked up at me, tears mixing with the rain on his face. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because a long time ago, a man tried to convince me I was worthless so he could steal what was mine," I said, the memory of Jason flashing in my mind for a fraction of a second before fading into nothingness. "I don't let men like that win anymore."

Arthur took a deep breath, clutching the envelope to his chest. "I kept copies," he whispered. "The original soil reports. The emails where Thorne ordered me to alter the numbers. I kept everything on a hard drive."