Part 4:

 These are all from Celeste Motors vehicles, she asked. Most of them. Some are competitors for comparison. But yeah, mostly yours. She turned to look at him. You’ve been running an unofficial investigation into my company for 10 years. I’ve been fixing your company’s mistakes for 10 years. The investigation part was just recordkeeping.

 And the report from 2013, the one the lawyers keep asking about. Ethan walked to the filing cabinet in the corner and pulled out the folder. He handed it to her. Celeste opened it and started reading. Ethan watched her face. She was good at hiding reactions, but not perfect. He saw the moment she understood what she was looking at.

 The color drained from her cheeks. This report, she said slowly, predicted exactly what’s happening now. Yeah, you sent this to the company. I submitted it through Proper channels technical analysis division. I was working for you at the time. What happened? Nothing for a while. Then I got transferred. Then I got laid off.

Celeste looked up. You think that was retaliation? I think it was convenient. She went back to the report, flipping through pages. When she finished, she set it down carefully on the workbench. Who else has seen this? Just the people I sent it to back in 2013. And now you. The lawyers don’t have a copy. Not yet.

 She studied him. Why are you showing me this? Because I want to know if you’re the person who buried it or if you’re the person who got lied to. And what if I’m the person who buried it? Then we’re done here and I give everything to the lawyers. Celeste walked over to the timeline on the wall. She traced the progression with her finger.

 2013 to 2023. Hundreds of data points. This is meticulous. I I had time. You had a daughter to raise and a business to run. I made time. She turned back to him. If I’m the person who got lied to, and I am, what then? Then we figure out who did the lying. And you’ll help me. If you’re willing to actually fix it, not just manage the PR, not just settle the lawsuits, actually find out what happened and make it right.

 Celeste was quiet for a long moment. Then she said, “I need to make some calls now.” Yes. She pulled out her phone and walked out of the back room. Ethan heard her voice in the main garage, sharp and commanding. The conversation lasted maybe 3 minutes. When she came back, her expression had changed. “I just fired my head of legal,” she said. Ethan blinked.

“What?” He’s been stonewalling discovery requests. I asked him directly if he’d seen your 2013 report. He lied to my face. She set her phone down. So, I fired him. Just like that. Just like that. She looked around the room again. I need copies of everything in here. That’s going to take a while. I’ve got time.

 She took off her jacket and rolled up her sleeves. Where do we start? They worked until past midnight. Celeste proved surprisingly competent with a photocopier and a labelmaker. She asked good questions, took notes in a leatherbound notebook, and didn’t complain when the space heater in the back room quit working and the temp

erature dropped. Around 11 p.m., Ethan ordered pizza. They ate it sitting on overturned buckets surrounded by 10 years of evidence. “Can I ask you something?” Celeste said, wiping grease off her fingers. “Sure. Why didn’t you go public with this years ago? Blow the whistle?” Ethan set down his slice. A few reasons. First, I’m a single dad.

 I blow the whistle. I become unhirable. Maybe I’m noble and broke, but Maya still needs to eat. Fair. Second, I didn’t have proof the company knew about the problem. I had my report, but I didn’t know what happened to it after I submitted it. For all I knew, it got lost in bureaucracy. Incompetence isn’t the same as malice.

 And third, he hesitated. Third, I kept hoping somebody would do the right thing, that one day I’d see a recall notice and know that somebody up there finally listened. Took me 10 years to figure out that wasn’t going to happen on its own. Celeste nodded slowly. I took over the company 6 years ago. I was 24.

 My father had just died. The board thought I’d be easy to control. She smiled without humor. They were wrong about that. But I was so focused on modernizing operations, cutting costs, staying competitive. I trusted people to tell me about problems. I thought that’s what the systems were for. Systems only work if people use them honestly. Clearly.

 She looked at the stacks of files they’d been copying. This is going to destroy careers, maybe including mine. You worried about that? I’m worried about a lot of things, but not that. She met his eyes. I’d rather lose the company than keep running it like this. They kept working. By the time they finished, it was almost 1:00 a.m.

Celeste’s SUV was loaded with boxes of copies. The originals stayed in Ethan’s back room. What happens now? Ethan asked. Now I start digging. Internal audit interviews. I’m going to find out who knew what and when. She paused. I’ll need you to testify. Probably multiple times. I know it won’t be easy.

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