And two weeks before Camille visited, Harlan had privately instructed a contractor that if “obsolete equipment” appeared beneath the slab, it should be removed directly to Arden’s secure recycling center without public inventory.
Camille read the email twice.
Then called Evan.
He answered:
“Hello?”
“He was going to crush it.”
Evan was quiet.
“The car?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe.”
“No.”
“Not maybe.”
“He wrote it.”
Evan exhaled.
Camille sat at her apartment dining table.
“I signed the redevelopment.”
“You didn’t know.”
“That sentence is beginning to make me sick.”
“What do you want me to say?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then I won’t invent something.”
She smiled weakly.
After a moment:
“How is Noah?”
“Mad.”
“At me?”
“At school.”
“What happened?”
“Kids found videos.”
Of course.
The story had leaked.
LOST ARDEN RACE CAR FOUND BENEATH DETROIT GARAGE
Then:
CEO’S FATHER MAY HAVE BEEN CLEARED BY HIDDEN PROTOTYPE
Reporters surrounded the block.
Noah’s classmates discovered his father at center.
Some called him rich.
Others liar.
One asked if he had stolen car.
Camille’s stomach tightened.
“I’m sorry.”
Evan replied:
“You didn’t post it.”
“My company did indirectly.”
“Probably.”
“What can I do?”
“Nothing.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is for tonight.”
Camille hated helplessness.
Evan continued:
“His counselor’s handling school.”
“He needs normal.”
“Not black cars and corporate security.”
She nodded though he could not see.
“Okay.”
Then Evan said:
“There is one thing.”
“What?”
“Tell your communications people stop calling me ‘garage tenant.’”
Camille frowned.
“They’re doing that?”
“Three releases.”
“What should they call you?”
“My name would be revolutionary.”
She laughed.
“I’ll fix it.”
The next morning every Arden release referred to Evan Mercer, owner of Mercer’s Auto Repair.
Noah noticed.
He did not thank her.
Good.
Camille began visiting the garage without cameras.
At first for legal meetings.
Then engineering review.
Then because the AR-7 was there.
The car was transferred only after a court-approved evidence protocol, not to Arden headquarters but to an independent conservation workshop nearby.
Evan was invited as technical observer because he understood the underground storage environment.
Camille attended every inspection.
They removed dust carefully.
Underneath, the silver body remained remarkably intact.
The engine was a compact experimental V8.
Fuel lines hardened.
Seals dried.
But frame straight.