Stand Aside, the Billionaire Is Here novel · Chapter 20 of 24
Chapter 20: The Dock Falls
Nobody on the dock made a sound.
The old man came forward through the crew, leaning on his cane, and the men moved aside for him one at a time.
Joaquin walked a half step behind, his hand ready, not touching.
The inspector stopped at the rope.
"I am eighty-one years old," he said. "I have kept my mouth shut for fifteen of them, and it has not helped me sleep."
"Mr. Heyward offered me forty thousand dollars the month before the crane fell."
"He said the east cranes were due for replacement anyway and the paperwork would only slow the sale."
"I signed that the number-two boom was sound, and I did not climb it."
"I told myself it was one signature."
"Liar," Lionel said, and his voice cracked.
"I kept the deposit slip."
The old man drew a flat, soft envelope from his shirt.
"In my wife's Bible, for fifteen years."
"I would not spend the money. I could not put it back."
A camera operator swung toward him, and then every camera on the dock swung with it.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of Stand Aside, the Billionaire Is Here are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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