I Died to End Their Lie novel · Chapter 17 of 24
Chapter 17: Resignation
The board of Rittenhouse Homes met at nine, and the lobby was full of cameras.
Dad walked through them without his coat.
I floated beside him up the stairs.
Eight men and two women sat around the long table, and none of them stood up.
The chairman cleared his throat.
"Russell, we have lost the school district contract. We've lost two banks. Our largest buyer called this morning and said they won't put their name next to yours."
"I know."
"We think it would be best if you stepped aside while this is sorted out."
"No," Dad said.
The chairman blinked.
"I'm not stepping aside. I'm resigning."
"Russell..."
"I'm resigning today, in front of the people who are waiting downstairs." Dad took a paper from his pocket and laid it on the table. "Effective now. Take whatever shares you need to keep the company alive."
Nobody moved.
"Why?" a woman at the end asked quietly.
Dad looked at her.
"I built forty houses last year," he said. "I told every family that a home is where you're safe. I put my own son in a room off the kitchen."
He turned and walked out.
The cameras closed around him on the front steps, and the microphones crowded his chin.
"Mr. Rittenhouse, did you send your son to a farm?"
"Yes."
"Did you know he was ill?"
"No." Dad's voice was steady. "I had every chance to find out, and I chose not to ask."
He reached into his jacket and took out a flash drive.
"This is a copy of the recording my son made on his phone. The police have the original. I'm giving the whole file to anyone who wants to hear it."
A reporter grabbed it from his hand.
"Why now?" someone shouted.
"Because I'm done being the only one who hears it," Dad said, and he went down the steps alone.
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