"Yes, I do."
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then she continued.
"You didn't just pay somebody to make the problem go away. You wanted to know why it happened."
Malik felt his throat tighten.
He thought about his father.
Then smiled sadly.
"That's something Dad taught me."
Evelyn nodded.
"He sounds like a good man."
Malik looked toward the window.
"He was."
They spoke for nearly an hour.
About family.
Neighbors.
The difficulty of maintaining a home as people grew older.
And the difference between a company claiming to build community and actually helping people live with dignity.
Before leaving, Malik repaired the loose latch on her garden gate.
Evelyn watched him work.
For a moment, she laughed.
"You sure you're a millionaire?"
Malik grinned.
"Last time I checked."
She shook her head.
"Then why are you fixing my gate?"
He looked toward the wrench in his hand.
Then smiled.
"Because it's broken."
Evelyn laughed so hard she had to sit down.
Malik laughed with her.
And for a brief moment, he felt as though his father were standing beside him again.
Victoria learned about Evelyn's corrected account from a public summary of the remediation program.
She read the information carefully.
Then searched through old correspondence until she found a complaint associated with Evelyn's development.
The message had been forwarded to her executive office nearly a year earlier.
It described confusing charges, an elderly homeowner's distress, and a request for assistance.
Victoria had never answered it personally.
Her assistant forwarded it to operations.
Thomas Vale replied that the matter was being handled according to policy.
And Victoria moved on to the next meeting.
She stared at the email.
For several seconds, her hands were motionless.
Then she opened another complaint.
And another.
She began recognizing a pattern in her own behavior.
When customers praised the company, she sometimes quoted their messages during investor presentations.
When they complained, she often assumed the operational team had already handled the problem.
She hadn't demanded evidence.
She hadn't asked what happened afterward.
And she had failed to notice that certain complaints were warning signs of a larger issue.
Victoria closed the computer.
For a moment, she looked around her beautiful home.
The expensive furniture.
The artwork.
The enormous windows overlooking Sterling Oaks.
She had spent years surrounding herself with objects that represented success.
Now she wondered how many people had felt powerless because of decisions made inside the company that paid for those luxuries.
The thought frightened her.
But she couldn't avoid it by blaming Thomas alone.