Chapter 12 - Roman Chose to Testify Against His Former Partners, and the City Turned on Him Overnight
Roman gave investigators full access to his accounts.
The newspapers called it a betrayal.
His former partners called it war.
I called it a beginning.
Park's team followed the bluebird clue.
My mother had rented a bank box.
Its branch displayed a bluebird mural.
The bank stood beside the river.
Inside the box were original invoices.
There were recordings, names, and dates.
There was also a letter to me.
My hands shook opening it.
Megan, if you are reading this, I failed to tell you everything.
She had protected evidence for years.
She feared the foundation would target our family.
She wrote that courage was not being unafraid.
It was doing the necessary thing anyway.
I cried in the bank lobby.
Roman waited beside the door.
He did not interrupt.
The documents connected Julian to forged reimbursements.
They also implicated several public officials.
Park arranged federal protection for key witnesses.
Roman testified before a grand jury.
By evening, protestors crowded his building.
Some wanted him prosecuted.
Others accused him of inventing the scandal.
He told me he might lose everything.
"You may," I answered.
He looked startled.
"Does that change anything?"
"It changes what you own."
I took his hand.
"It doesn't decide who you become."
Then Park called.
Elias had been located.
May you like
He was ready to speak.
But only if I attended.
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