PART 16:
Warren’s team contacted Nathan daily with questions. They needed clarification on specific repair orders, timeline verification, technical explanations of engine failures that a jury would understand. Nathan walked them through everything methodically. He’d spent 10 years building this evidence. He knew every folder, every document, every detail.
Viven prepared her own testimony, working with her attorneys to navigate the complicated reality of being both witness and potential defendant. She’d been CEO during the later years of the coverup. Even though she hadn’t known the full extent, she’d signed off on things she should have questioned. “They might charge me,” she told Nathan one night.
“Warren says they’re still deciding.” What would the charges be? Negligent oversight, failure to investigate. Basically being the public face of a criminal enterprise without bothering to look behind the curtain. She stared at her laptop. I deserve it. You didn’t know. I should have. That’s the whole point.
I was so focused on stock prices and quarterly earnings that I never asked where the profits were coming from. She closed the laptop. I was complicit through ignorance, and ignorance isn’t actually an excuse when you’re in charge. Nathan didn’t argue because she wasn’t wrong. Daniel Mercer was arrested on a Tuesday morning. Nathan watched the news coverage from his garage, seeing Mercer led out of his Florida mansion in handcuffs.
He looked smaller on television, older, almost ordinary. The news anchors called it a major development in corporate fraud. They showed clips of Vivian’s press conference, mentioned Nathan’s decade of documentation, called it one of the largest criminal conspiracy cases in automotive history, but they didn’t show the victims.
Didn’t name Marcus Webb or Robert Patterson or any of the 73 people who’ died so Crossline Motors could save money on a recall. Nathan turned off the television. Ellie came home from school that day practically vibrating with excitement. Everyone saw your name on the news. Mrs. Patterson said you’re famous. I’m not famous, baby.
Tommy’s mom said you’re a hero. Tommy’s mom is being generous. Can I take your picture to school for show and tell? Absolutely not. But Ellie did anyway, bringing in a photo of Nathan from last year’s Father’s Day celebration. According to Margaret, she told her entire class that her dad was helping the FBI catch criminals and that bad guys were going to jail because he never stopped fighting.
Nathan didn’t know whether to be proud or horrified. The preliminary hearing arrived faster than Nathan wanted. He woke up that morning feeling sick, his hands shaking while he tried to tie a tie he barely remembered how to knot. Viven helped, her fingers steady against his collar. You’re going to be fine. What if I freeze up there? What if I can’t explain things properly? You’ve been explaining this for 10 years. You could do it in your sleep.
She finished the tie and stepped back. Just tell the truth. That’s all anyone can ask. They drove to the courthouse together. The building was surrounded by news vans and reporters. Nathan saw protesters with signs. Some supporting crossline employees worried about losing jobs, others demanding justice for victims.
Inside, the courtroom was packed. Nathan recognized faces from the victim families. Marcus Webb’s widow, Robert Patterson in a wheelchair near the front. Dozens of others whose lives had been destroyed by faulty engines and corporate greed. Warren met them outside the courtroom. Mercer’s attorneys are trying to get your documentation thrown out as hearsay.
They’re claiming you had motive to fabricate evidence. Of course they are, Nathan said. Don’t worry. We have Hang’s testimony to corroborate everything, and the physical evidence from his flash drive backs up your documentation perfectly. Warren checked his watch. You’re up second. After the FBI’s forensic accountant establishes the financial timeline, Nathan nodded, his throat dry. The hearing started.
Nathan sat in the gallery beside Viven, watching Daniel Mercer enter with four attorneys surrounding him like bodyguards. Mercer looked confident, relaxed, like this was a minor inconvenience instead of a criminal trial. The FBI’s accountant testified first, laying out 10 years of financial record showing how Cross Line’s profits increased directly alongside warranty claim denials and ignored safety reports.
She had charts and graphs and numbers that painted a clear picture of corruption. Mercer’s attorneys objected constantly. The judge overruled most of them. Then it was Nathan’s turn. He walked to the witness stand on legs that felt disconnected from his body. The courtroom was huge, intimidating, every eye on him. Warren stood.
Please state your name for the record. Nathan Keller. And your occupation? I own a repair garage in Ashton Ridge, Ohio. And prior to that, I was an automotive engineer for Crossline Motors from 2011 to 2014. Warren pulled up a document on the screen behind Nathan. Do you recognize this? Nathan looked. It was his original engineering report.
The one warning about catastrophic engine failure. Yes. I wrote that in January 2014. And what happened after you submitted it? Nothing for about 3 weeks. Then I was called into a meeting with Daniel Mercer. Nathan’s voice was steady now. Factual. He told me the report was being dismissed as overcautious, that production was proceeding as scheduled.
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