Chapter 13 - The Pariah at the Door
The rain started at dusk, slicking the asphalt outside the emergency entrance of the clinic.
Julian was walking toward his car in the rear staff lot, carrying a briefcase full of soil core samples he intended to bring to an independent laboratory at the university.
A dark black sedan sat idling by the chain-link perimeter fence, its headlights cutting through the descending mist.
As Julian approached, the rear door opened, and a tall figure stepped out into the rain.
Adrian Kane stood without an umbrella, his wool coat soaked at the shoulders.
He looked older than he had three weeks ago, the sharp, haughty arrogance carved out of his face, leaving only hollow cheekbones and dark circles beneath his eyes.
"Get off these grounds, Adrian," Julian said coldly, resting his hand against the door of his vehicle.
"Claire has a protective injunction against Kane Enterprises personnel, and you are trespassing on private medical property."
"I didn't come to see Claire," Adrian said, his voice hoarse from the wind.
"I came to see you, Vance."
"I have nothing to say to you.
You took five years of her youth, and your father’s corporation probably poisoned this entire district."
"I know," Adrian said quietly.
Julian froze, surprised by the total absence of defiance in Adrian’s voice.
Adrian reached inside his coat, pulled out a thick, water-resistant folder, and held it out toward Julian across the hood of the car.
"My father’s original chemical manifest from 1999," Adrian said, rain dripping from his chin.
"Three subterranean holding tanks were abandoned forty feet below the east quadrant when Kane Chemical closed the facility.
They weren't drained.
They were capped with low-grade aggregate and covered with topsoil."
Julian stared at the folder, his pulse hammering against his ribs.
"Why are you giving this to me?
If this becomes public, your family estate will be hit with hundreds of millions in environmental cleanup liabilities.
It will wipe out the remaining Kane trust funds."
"I don't care about the trust funds," Adrian whispered, looking toward the brightly lit third-floor windows of the clinic where a silhouette moved behind the blinds.
"Harold Vance and the Sterling syndicate are planning to use this report to shut Claire down tomorrow morning.
They have already drafted an emergency injunction to seize the building under the pretext of public safety.
If they seize it, they’ll seal the records and Claire will take the fall for operating an unsafe facility."
Julian took the file, his fingers gripping the cold edges.
"Why, Adrian?
Is this your sick idea of penance?"
Adrian stepped back toward his car, his eyes fixed on the illuminated window above.
"Tell her... tell her the foundation was cracked before she ever arrived.
May you like
And tell her I am going to buy her the time she needs to fix it."
Before Julian could respond, Adrian slipped back into the sedan, and the vehicle melted into the rainy darkness.
