The Man They Blame

Expose every secret

“What is the meaning of this, Mr. Victor? Why does the fund disbursement require his signature?” Page stared at the situation before him, bewildered.

Victor glanced at him with a cynical sneer. “Mr. Derek is the son of Jacob West; therefore, he is the one who will sign on his behalf.”

Christian laughed. “What kind of nonsense is this, sir?” He refused to believe it.

However, Victor’s silence—making no effort to retract his statement—caused the laughter on Christian’s face to vanish. The others, equally blindsided, stood in stunned silence.

Realizing that the investigators from the central agency were still present, Page hurriedly sought clarification. “But wasn't Derek's termination the primary condition for us to receive the donation? We took action by disciplining him for his conduct, so what does this mean? I don’t understand at all.”

Victor’s gaze sharpened upon hearing the distorted facts. “There was no order from Mr. Jacob regarding that. On the contrary, he is extremely grateful for Mr. Derek’s actions, which is exactly why he is providing a five-million-dollar donation to this institution.”

The investigators’ gazes locked onto Page, who began to stutter, realizing he had been cornered. He quickly turned toward Christian.

Christian shook his head, refusing to take the blame, and stepped forward. “The donation conditions are not the point. Derek still violated regulations, and a legitimate institution must impose disciplinary action on him regardless of his identity.”

Christian then produced a statement signed by Erin onto the table. “Look, this is a report from Erin, Derek’s wife, confirming that Derek’s mental state is unstable and poses a danger to this institution.”

Fae, who had just arrived at the meeting, smiled cynically. During her journey, she had thoroughly researched Derek’s life and uncovered many bitter truths.

She placed photographic evidence of Erin’s intimacy with a man named Dick on the table. Christian and Page were left speechless, while the others waited for an explanation. “Her testimony lacks credibility because, during the fire, she was found at a hotel with a man named Dick in a ‘deplorable’ state, sharing the same coat in one room.” She offered a sharp, cynical smile toward the now-flustered Christian.

Christian cursed Erin silently in his mind; the woman had just put him in a very difficult position.

“Given her position as the founder of the *Firefighter Family Safety Foundation* and a well-known public safety advocate, she certainly didn’t want her reputation tarnished. That is why she manufactured a false statement to silence Derek and ruin his credibility in the public eye,” she added.

The silence in the room gave way to whispers, leaving Page terrified about his future status.

Brett, who had joined the meeting, was shocked. He looked at Derek with a sympathetic gaze, but he could not bring himself to say anything in Derek’s presence right now.

Fae called her assistant, who brought in a laptop with an active video call. “Hello, Dr. Thompson. How is my father’s condition?” Fae connected the meeting to Jacob’s personal physician.

Dr. Thompson showed Jacob’s current condition by displaying the monitoring screen. “As you can see, he is currently in recovery. His condition was in a very critical state. If it hadn’t been for Mr. Derek’s intervention, Mr. Jacob might not have survived.”

“No,” Christian interjected, seizing an opening, desperate to ensure Derek didn't escape his scheme. “Derek was negligent. The condition worsened because Derek took reckless actions, making the situation far worse than it should have been.”

Everyone in the room fell silent, listening intently. According to the reports they had read, the outcome seemed to align with Christian’s statement. But Fae and Victor were not swayed by it at all.

The doctor, who clearly understood Jacob’s condition from his medical records, nodded. “What exactly do you mean by ‘how it should have been,’ sir?”

Christian rose from his seat aggressively. “If he had been rescued following established procedures, the injuries he sustained would not have been life-threatening. I am certain of that.”

A calm smile appeared on the doctor’s face in response to Christian’s error. “You are mistaken, sir.” He moved to show another report. “This is the incident summary. We reviewed the temperature at the scene, smoke concentration, and the timeline of the structure’s collapse; everything indicates the probabilities.”

He directed them to an X-ray of Jacob’s lungs. “In this condition, Mr. Jacob’s lungs were already at their limit. He was suffering from severe smoke inhalation; three more minutes would have been fatal.”

This fact dismantled the procedural argument Christian had used against Derek, stripping him of his strongest leverage and causing him to stumble backward, trembling.

The doctor continued, “Had Mr. Derek waited for the structural rescue team to enter the building, set up supports, and deploy heavy hydraulic equipment, the process would have taken at least ten minutes, and Mr. Jacob would not have survived.”

As this became clear, Christian tried to leave the room, but Victor’s security staff halted his steps.

Victor immediately played a recording the moment the call ended.

“I don’t want to take the risk!” Christian’s loud voice rang out clearly from the recording, shocking the entire room.

The audio came from the independent backup system of the Los Angeles County Wildfire Unified Command Center. During cross-jurisdictional operations, all critical command communication channels are automatically archived.

“I will not bear any unnecessary responsibility, so everyone do exactly as ordered by the official procedure. If the people inside die, then let them die; I don’t want to risk my position just because of that.”

The recording caused every eye in the room to turn toward him with judgmental glares.

Christian might have been able to alter the internal reports kept by his own department, but he could not change the original communications archived by another jurisdiction.

“No, I didn’t say that...” he denied, in a state of sheer panic.

Page immediately put on an expression of performative, righteous fury. “I trusted the professional report you submitted, Christian. Deleting original records, misleading leadership, and fabricating donation requirements—you have seriously damaged the reputation of the Fire Department!” he condemned.

With a furious face, Page pointed at Christian and Zack. “Both of you are suspended pending further investigation.”

Zack remained silent, not daring to speak and worsen his situation, as he knew Christian could no longer protect him.

Meanwhile, Christian stared blankly. “But I...” he tried to make excuses but realized he couldn't escape alone. He turned to attack Brett. “This is not all my fault.”

He pointed his finger at Brett, who had mostly remained silent, bearing the weight of it all. Christian gritted his teeth, glaring fiercely at him. “Brett is the one responsible for the rescue operation. He should bear full responsibility for everything that happened. This is all his fault.”

Brett’s eyes widened. He had never expected to be scapegoated, and he grew furious.

Initially, he had no intention of getting involved in the power struggle within the department.

But now, after Christian tried to throw all the blame onto him, Brett decided to act. “So, now you’re casting accusations?” he said with a bitter smile. “If that’s what you want, fine. I will expose every secret I know about this place so that you are satisfied.”