He was quiet.
“I’m reviewing the records.”
“That wasn’t the question.”
“I was twenty-one when your father died. I knew there had been a death. I was told he had ignored a restriction and entered an unsafe area.”
I closed my eyes.
“Did you believe it?”
“Yes.”
The answer landed hard.
“Did you check?”
“No.”
He let the silence remain.
Finally, I asked, “Why are you telling me?”
“Because if I give you a better version now, you’ll have no reason to trust anything I say later.”
I leaned against the wall.
“Who told you?”
“My uncle Gideon. Victor reported to him.”
“Does he still?”
“Yes.”
I opened my eyes.
“Then you haven’t started far enough back.”
“I know.”
For the next week, my world became smaller and more difficult.
Work.
Home.
Amira’s office.
My mother’s appointments.
I wanted to be brave.
Mostly, I was tired.
Then Marco called.
He sounded sympathetic.
That should have warned me.
“Clara, things are getting complicated.”
“For whom?”
“You’ve worked here three months. People are asking whether you took the job because of your father.”
I sat down.
“Who is asking?”
“It would help if you came in and explained.”
“To Enzo?”
“To everyone.”
I looked at the floor.
There it was again.
An invitation to prove I was harmless to people who had already made up their minds.
“I’ll speak to Nia.”
“Don’t make this bigger.”
“I didn’t.”
He ended the call.
I told Nia.
She asked for the time and number.
Then she said, “You do not owe the floor staff an account of your family’s history.”
Two days later, Marco was removed from handling employee records while an outside review took place.
