Chapter 13 Enemies Closing In #2
Construction lights illuminated portions of the damaged site beyond them.
The camp seemed unusually quiet.
Eventually Carlos sighed.
"They got to Miguel."
The statement wasn't really a question.
Elias nodded.
"And Andre."
Carlos cursed softly.
The older man stared toward the construction site.
His expression darkened.
"I've seen this before."
Those words immediately caught Elias's attention.
"How many times?"
The worker laughed bitterly.
"More than I can count."
That answer felt worse.
Much worse.
Because it suggested a pattern.
Not an isolated incident.
Not a few bad managers.
A culture.
A system.
Something much larger.
Carlos rubbed tired eyes.
"When companies get scared, they don't always come after the problem directly."
His gaze shifted toward Elias.
"Sometimes they pressure everyone around it."
The truth of those words hung heavily between them.
Elias already knew they were right.
He had spent the entire day watching it happen.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Elias made a decision.
A risky one.
Possibly a stupid one.
Yet he trusted Carlos more than almost anyone in camp.
Slowly, he pulled a folded sheet of paper from his notebook.
The older worker frowned.
"What's that?"
Elias unfolded it carefully.
Copies of reference numbers.
Project files.
Safety reviews.
The evidence he had collected.
Not everything.
Enough.
Carlos stared.
His expression changed immediately.
"What is this?"
"The reason they're nervous."
The older worker looked up sharply.
Elias lowered his voice.
"I found records."
Silence.
Heavy.
Interested.
Dangerous.
Carlos studied him for several moments.
Then returned his attention to the papers.
As Elias quietly explained what he'd discovered, the older worker's expression became increasingly grim.
The safety reviews.
The ignored warnings.
The approval signatures.
The accident reports.
Every detail made things worse.
By the time he finished, Carlos looked genuinely shaken.
For a long moment, the older man said nothing.
Then he leaned back slowly.
"Jesus."
The single word seemed inadequate.
Yet Elias understood.
He felt exactly the same.
Carlos stared toward the darkness.
Processing.
Thinking.
Remembering.
Finally, he spoke.
"You know what this means."
Elias nodded.
"Yeah."
The worker shook his head.
"No."
His voice grew quieter.
"He died because someone made a choice."
The statement landed hard.
Because that was exactly what the documents suggested.
Not fate.
Not bad luck.
Not a tragic accident.
A choice.
Someone had looked at warnings and decided they weren't important enough.
The anger inside Elias sharpened.
Became something harder.
More focused.
Carlos noticed immediately.
The older man folded the papers and handed them back.
"What are you going to do?"
The question lingered between them.
Elias thought about Viktor.
About Luka.
About every worker who had trusted him.
About his father.
About the company carrying his family name.
The answer arrived surprisingly easily.
"Keep going."
Carlos studied him carefully.
Searching for doubt.
Finding none.
A slow nod followed.
"Good."
The response surprised him.
The older worker looked tired.
Worried.
Yet strangely certain.
"You stop now, they win."
The words settled deeply inside Elias.
Because Carlos was right.
Fear worked when people surrendered to it.
The company wanted silence.
That alone told him he was getting close.
Very close.
The older worker stood.
Then paused.
One hand rested on Elias's shoulder.
A simple gesture.
Yet meaningful.
"Be careful."
The warning felt sincere.
Personal.
Elias nodded.
"I will."
Carlos didn't look convinced.
Still, he walked away.
Leaving Elias alone with his thoughts.
And his determination.
The conversation remained with him throughout the rest of the evening.
By the time he returned to his trailer, one thing felt absolutely certain.
There was no turning back.
Not anymore.
The evidence existed.
The truth existed.
And whatever happened next, he couldn't pretend otherwise.
The realization gave him unexpected strength.
At least for a few minutes.
Then he opened his trailer door.
And everything changed.
At first, his brain refused to process what he was seeing.
The room looked wrong.
Completely wrong.
The desk lamp lay shattered on the floor.
Papers covered every surface.
Drawers hung open.
The mattress had been flipped.
Books scattered across the trailer.
For one stunned second, Elias simply stood there.
Frozen.
Disbelieving.
Then understanding hit.
Someone had been here.
Someone had searched the trailer.
His pulse exploded.
"No."
The word escaped automatically.
He stepped inside.
The damage became obvious immediately.
Folders ripped apart.
Notes missing.
Documents scattered.
His research destroyed.
Panic surged through him.
Elias rushed toward the desk.
The stack of evidence he had carefully organized over weeks was gone.
Not misplaced.
Gone.
Several folders remained.
Empty.
Their contents removed completely.
The realization hit like a punch to the stomach.
Someone knew.
Not suspected.
Knew.
His hands shook as he searched desperately through the wreckage.
Drawers.
Boxes.
The closet.
Anywhere.
Nothing.
The most important files had vanished.
Only useless material remained.
His breathing grew uneven.
Not from panic.
From fury.
Cold fury.
Because this wasn't random vandalism.
Nothing had been stolen except information.
Nothing valuable had been taken except evidence.
Whoever broke in knew exactly what they were looking for.
And exactly where to find it.
The implication settled heavily over him.
They were watching.
Maybe not constantly.
Maybe not personally.
But closely enough.
Closely enough to know he was investigating.
Closely enough to know where he kept his records.
Closely enough to break into his home and destroy weeks of work.
Elias stood in the middle of the ruined trailer.
Surrounded by scattered papers and broken trust.
The fear he had seen in workers suddenly made perfect sense.
Because this wasn't just intimidation anymore.
This was a warning.
A direct one.
And as he stared at the destruction around him, a chilling realization settled over him.
Hart Industries knew someone was coming for the truth.
And they were willing to do whatever it took to stop him.
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