"Now someone has destroyed it, most likely. Can't have inconvenient truths floating around when you're trying to protect a legacy built on lies."
Daniel, who'd been listening quietly, spoke up. "Not necessarily destroyed. If they were smart, they'd keep it as leverage. Proof they could release if you ever tried to make trouble."
"Either way, we can't prove anything now," Nia said.
"Actually," Victoria said slowly, "we might be able to. Daniel, do you still have that contact at the Historical Society? The one who helped with the foundation's anniversary exhibit—Dr. Patricia Hayes?"
"Why?"
"Because if Hale Industries had a Black co-founder in the '20s, there might be records: business filings, newspaper announcements, patent applications... things that can't be erased completely, no matter how hard someone tries."
"That would take time to research. Weeks, maybe months."
"Then we start now." Victoria stood up. "I want everything you can find on Marcus Wellington and his connection to Hale Industries: employment records, financial documents, anything that proves he existed and was involved."
"Mrs. Hale," Daniel said carefully, "the board gave you twenty-four hours to decide whether to support their settlement plan. That deadline passed yesterday. If you start actively investigating the company's history, they'll see it as a declaration of war."
"Good. Because that's exactly what it is."
Over the next week, Victoria threw herself into research with an intensity that surprised even Daniel. She hired three different private investigators, tasked each with different aspects of the investigation, and told them to report directly to her, not through any company channels.
The first investigator, a retired FBI agent named Sarah Blackwood, focused on financial records. She discovered that in 1923, there had been a substantial payment from Hale Industries to a Marcus Wellington, categorized as a "partnership dissolution settlement."
The second investigator, a genealogist named Robert Kim, traced the Wellington family history and found that Marcus Wellington had indeed filed patent applications for industrial machinery in 1921 and 1922, some of which were later registered under Hale Industries' name.
The third investigator, a journalist named Maria Santos who specialized in corporate histories, found newspaper archives mentioning Wellington as a silent partner in the early years of the company, though references to him disappeared entirely after 1924.
Meanwhile, Nia's health slowly improved with proper treatment. The doctors were optimistic about her recovery, though they warned it would be a long process. Amara continued attending school, now from a small apartment Victoria had quietly rented for them in a safe neighborhood, still using false names for protection.
The board's patience was running out. Thomas Richardson called Victoria to his office for what he termed a final conversation.
"You've been avoiding us," he said without preamble when she arrived. "You've moved the woman and child without informing anyone. You've been asking questions about company history that have nothing to do with foundation business. What exactly are you doing, Victoria?"
"Research."
"Into what?"
"The truth about how Hale Industries was really founded."
Thomas's expression hardened. "I see. And what truth do you think you've discovered?"
"That Richard's grandfather had a Black business partner named Marcus Wellington. That this partner was systematically erased from company history and cheated out of his rightful stake. And that his granddaughter is Amara's mother, which means Amara has a claim to the Hale legacy through multiple lines."
"That's an interesting story. Do you have proof?"
"I'm gathering it."
"Let me save you some time. Whatever proof you think you're finding won't matter. The company has been operating under its current structure for a century. Any claims based on century-old partnerships would be legally meaningless: statute of limitations, settled accounts, documented transfers of ownership. Our lawyers have already reviewed the possibilities."
"You knew," Victoria said softly. "You've known all along about Marcus Wellington."
"Of course we knew. The senior board members have always known. It's part of the company's institutional history, handled and resolved generations ago. What we didn't expect was for some descendant to show up a hundred years later trying to rewrite history."
"So you're admitting the erasure happened."
"I'm admitting that business practices in the 1920s were different than they are now. Marcus Wellington was compensated fairly for his time and contributions. The fact that he chose to take a buyout rather than continue as a partner was his decision."
"He was forced out because of his race!"
"That's speculation. And even if it were true, it's ancient history. You can't undo a century of legitimate business operations because of grievances from the Jim Crow era."
Victoria stood up. "Watch me try."
"Sit down, Victoria! We're not finished." Thomas's voice carried steel now. "You need to understand what you're risking here. If you pursue this crusade, you won't just lose your position with the foundation. We'll fight you on every front: character witnesses questioning your mental stability after Richard's death, suggesting this obsession with the girl is some kind of grief-induced illusion. We'll audit every foundation expense you've ever approved, looking for irregularities. We'll make your life so legally complicated that you'll spend years and millions in legal fees defending yourself."
"And I'll make sure everyone knows why you're doing it. I'll make sure the world knows that Hale Industries was built on stolen Black intellectual property and that you're still trying to cover it up a century later."
"You think the media will care about something that happened in the 1920s? This isn't the scandal you think it is."