Chapter 7 - The Saboteur
(Word count: ~1500)
Six months passed in Pine Creek.
Winter thawed into a blooming, vibrant spring. Victoria had transformed. Her pale, stressed complexion had been replaced by a healthy, sun-kissed glow. She lived in the small two-bedroom cottage Eleanor had provided, spending her evenings reading, cooking simple meals, and managing the community center’s logistics.
Using her sharp background in public relations and administration, Victoria had completely overhauled the center's efficiency. She secured grants, organized food distribution schedules, and expanded the shelter capacity by forty percent.
For the first time in her life, Victoria went to sleep with a quiet mind.
Then, on a rainy Tuesday morning in May, catastrophe struck.
Victoria arrived at the community center at 6:00 AM to prepare for the weekly food bank distribution. As she walked through the rear alleyway toward the storage loading dock, she noticed the heavy padlocks on the industrial freezer units were hanging broken.
Panic flared in her chest. She rushed inside.
The main freezer doors were wide open. Thousands of dollars worth of donated meat, fresh produce, and medical supplies—meant to feed over two hundred struggling families that week—had been completely doused in industrial motor oil, rendering them entirely ruined.
On the brick wall above the ruined supplies, spray-painted in bold red letters, was a single taunting message:
“FAKES DON'T BELONG HERE.”
Martha ran into the storage room a minute later, clutching her chest as she saw the destruction. "Oh Lord... no! The distribution is in three hours! How could this happen?"
Victoria knelt by the ruined boxes, her mind racing. This wasn't a random act of vandalism. Someone had deliberately targeted the center to destroy its reputation.
Suddenly, her phone rang. An unfamiliar number flashed on the screen.
Victoria answered it, setting it to speaker. "Hello?"
"Do you like your new project, Victoria?" a smooth, arrogant male voice purred through the speaker.
Victoria's blood ran cold. She recognized that voice immediately.
Julian Vance.
Julian was a ruthless venture capitalist and Daniel Whitmore’s primary rival in the city’s corporate scene. Julian had been trying for years to break the Whitmore family’s dominance, and he had been furious when Victoria’s scandal ruined his planned business merger with Daniel's firm.
"Julian," Victoria spat, her eyes narrowing into cold slits. "You did this?"
"I just wanted to remind you of your place, darling," Julian chuckled darkly over the phone. "Did you really think Eleanor Whitmore sent you to Oregon to redeem you? She sent you there to rot. And now, when the local news reports that your little community center lost all its food due to 'gross administrative negligence,' your name will be permanently ruined."
"These families rely on this food, Julian!" Victoria shouted, her voice shaking with rage—not for herself, but for the people who would go hungry. "You targeted innocent people just to get back at me?"
"Innocent people are collateral damage, Victoria. You should know that better than anyone," Julian sneered. "Have a nice press conference, sweetie."
The line went dead.
Martha slumped against the wall, weeping quietly. "We have no budget to replace this food, Victoria. The distribution will have to be canceled. People are going to go hungry..."
Victoria stood up slowly. The old, sharp, brilliant ambition that had once made her a formidable force in the corporate world surged back into her veins—but this time, it wasn't fueled by greed. It was fueled by an absolute, unyielding desire to protect her community.
"No," Victoria said, her voice dropping into a razor-sharp tone of complete authority. "We are not canceling anything."
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"Victoria, we have nothing to give them!"
"We have three hours, Martha," Victoria said, pulling out her laptop and unlocking her private contact list. "And Julian Vance just made the biggest mistake of his life."
