Chapter 3 - Sins of the Father’s Boss
Monday morning brought a suffocating tension to Scranton. The sky was the color of bruised iron, threatening rain. Arthur dressed in his familiar blue coveralls, but for the first time in his life, the uniform felt like a straitjacket.
“You can’t just walk in there,” Helen whispered fiercely in the kitchen, her hands tightly gripping a coffee mug. “Arthur, if Vance suspects anything, he’ll kill you too.”
“I’ve worked in that yard for thirty years, Helen,” Arthur said, his jaw set with a determination Chloe hadn't seen since she was a child. “I know every blind spot in the security cameras. I know when the locker room is empty. I owe this to Marcus. I owe it to my grandson.”
Chloe stood in the doorway, watching her parents. The resentment she had carried for ten long years was slowly beginning to fracture, replaced by a terrifying solidarity.
“Dad’s right,” Chloe said. “But we need backup. I made some calls yesterday to a friend in Philadelphia. He’s an investigative journalist with ties to the FBI. He’s driving down today. If Dad can get those ledgers, we bypass the local cops entirely.”
Arthur nodded, grabbing his lunchbox. He paused by the living room, where Leo was sitting on the floor, sketching in a notebook. Arthur knelt down, his old joints popping.
“Hey, kiddo,” Arthur said softly.
Leo looked up, his dark eyes—so hauntingly like Marcus’s—locking onto Arthur. “Are you going to work, Grandpa?”
May you like
The word Grandpa hit Arthur like a physical blow. He smiled through a rush of emotion. “Yeah, Leo. I have a very important job to do today. For your dad.”
Arthur walked out the door, the weight of a decade's worth of guilt propelling him forward.
