Chapter 3 - The Interrogation of a Small Man
Roland Pike was sweating profusely by the time Marcus brought him into the penthouse. He held his yellow hardhat in both hands, clutching it like a shield against his chest.
"Mr. Vance," Pike stammered, bowing his head repeatedly. "I... I don't understand. If Caldwell was lazy or disrespectful, I can terminate her immediately—"
"Sit down, Roland," Dorian said smoothly, indicating a small leather chair in front of the desk.
Pike sat on the very edge of the cushion, his knees knocking together. He glanced nervously at Marin, who sat quietly on the sofa with Titan still guarding her feet.
"How long have you run Apex Maintenance?" Dorian asked.
"Six years, sir. Six good years. We've kept Vance Tower immaculate—"
"How much money did Garrett Boyd pay you last month?"
Pike went rigid. The color drained from his face so fast he looked like a corpse. "I... I don't... Mr. Boyd is the director of logistics. He signs our service contracts—"
"He signs your service contracts," Dorian interrupted, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the desk, "and in return, you keep thirty ghost employees on your payroll. You draw thirty full-time salaries from Vance Enterprises every month, transfer seventy percent of that cash to an off-shore account in Panama, and keep thirty percent for yourself."
Pike’s eyes bulged with terror. "No! Mr. Vance, I swear to God—"
"Do not use God's name in this room, Roland," Dorian whispered, his voice dangerously soft. "It offends me."
Dorian stood up and walked around the desk. He stopped beside Pike’s chair, placing one hand on the wooden backrest.
"For three years," Dorian said, "you have been taking money meant for site safety, building maintenance, and employee insurance. You gave a disabled widow six hours of work a night at twelve dollars an hour, harassed her about her broken leg, and threatened to fire her whenever she asked why her health coverage was denied."
Pike looked frantically at Marin. "Marin, please! Tell him I’ve been fair! I gave you the job when nobody else would hire a c-cripple!"
Titan let out a low, gut-wrenching growl from across the room. The dog didn't stand up, but his teeth barred slightly, glistening in the lamplight.
Pike squeezed his eyes shut, trembling violently. "I was following orders! Garrett told me what to do! He told me to keep Mrs. Caldwell on night shifts where she wouldn't be seen by management! He said if she started asking questions about her husband's pension, I was supposed to make her life miserable until she quit!"
Marin absorbed the words like physical blows. Her husband hadn't just been killed by negligence; her suffering for the past three years had been calculated, planned, and executed by the very people who managed the building she cleaned every night.
Dorian looked down at Pike with absolute disgust. "Marcus."
Marcus stepped out of the shadows near the door.
"Take Mr. Pike to the basement," Dorian ordered. "Hand him over to the district attorney’s fraud task force along with the Apex payroll ledgers. Make sure he understands that if he misses a single detail about Garrett Boyd's operations, he will serve his time in Stateville instead of a federal facility."
"Right away, boss," Marcus said, grabbing Pike by the collar and hauling him out of the chair like a bag of wet laundry.
As the doors closed behind them, the penthouse fell quiet again.
Marin sat frozen, staring at her hands. The truth had finally come out, but it didn't bring relief. It brought an overwhelming wave of grief that hit her so hard she couldn't breathe. Three years of pain, cold nights, skipped meals, and humiliation—all because of greedy men in expensive suits.
She felt a soft, heavy weight on her knee.
Titan had stood up and placed his broad head squarely on her lap, gazing up at her with soft, golden eyes.
May you like
Marin buried her face in the dog’s thick fur and wept silently.
Dorian didn't offer empty words of comfort. He walked to the bar, poured a small glass of oak-aged bourbon, and set it on the table beside her. Then he sat down in the chair opposite her and waited.
