"We may have something much bigger than bad customer service."
She sighed.
"I was afraid of that."
Evelyn Brooks learned about the review when Rachel contacted her.
The attorney explained that the company had established an independent process for examining disputed charges.
Evelyn listened.
Then asked whether that meant she no longer owed anything.
Rachel answered carefully.
"Not automatically. Some amounts may be valid. But the questioned fees are being reviewed, and we can challenge anything unsupported."
The elderly woman nodded.
For a moment, she seemed relieved.
Then she asked something that surprised Rachel.
"Does Mr. Carter know about this?"
"Yes."
Evelyn smiled.
"He promised somebody would look."
Rachel nodded.
"That's what we're doing."
The woman was quiet.
Then whispered, "My husband would've liked him."
Rachel smiled.
"Why?"
Evelyn looked toward a photograph on her mantel.
Her late husband stood beside a small garden he'd planted thirty years earlier.
She took a slow breath.
"Because he doesn't talk like he owns people just because he has money."
For several seconds, Rachel couldn't speak.
Then she thanked Evelyn and ended the call.
That evening, she told Malik what the woman said.
He sat quietly.
For a moment, he remembered his father standing beside the Ferrari.
The way Samuel admired the car, then reminded him that owning something expensive didn't make him better than anyone else.
Malik smiled sadly.
"I wish Dad could see what we're trying to do."
Rachel's voice softened.
"Maybe he'd recognize the reason you're doing it."
Malik looked toward the old toolbox beside his bookshelf.
For several seconds, he didn't speak.
Then whispered, "I hope so."
Victoria received the preliminary audit findings in her office.
At first, she dismissed them as an aggressive attempt by the new investor to justify removing her from leadership.
She argued that the company's collection practices were complicated and that ordinary homeowners frequently complained when asked to comply with community rules.
But the documents were specific.
They identified charges without adequate support.
Questions about third-party information sharing.
And financial relationships that hadn't been properly disclosed.
Victoria looked toward Thomas Vale.
He sat across from her, wearing an expensive gray suit.
For a moment, she seemed genuinely confused.
"Did you know about these referral payments?"
Thomas nodded cautiously.
"They're standard business-development arrangements."
She stared.
"With Springline?"
"Yes."
"Why wasn't I told they were connected to homeowners facing disputed charges?"
Thomas shifted.
"The program was described in the operations summaries."
Victoria looked toward the documents.
For several seconds, she couldn't speak.
Then she asked whether he'd personally benefited from any of the payments.