CHAPTER 125 : Our Own Board

POV: Selene Castellano

Amara was already sitting at her desk when Selene and Avalon walked in the next morning at 7 am. She had three pieces of paper laid out on the table in front of her, covered in colorful notes and symbols that only made sense to her. It was clear she had been up late, coming up with some kind of system that only she could understand.

“Sit down,” Amara said, not looking up. “ This is bad.”

“How bad,” Avalon said.

"Amara pointed out that two names on Ross's list which were familiar, they belonged to members of their community advisory panel, not the executive board, but rather a group of people they had specifically chosen for their connections to the city government."

Selene sat down slowly.

“Who,” she said.

Amara turned one of the printouts around.

Two names, highlighted.

Selene read them.

"They've been a part of our lives from the very start," she said in a soft voice, "even before we held the symposium, they were already here with us."

“I know,” Amara said.

James walked in ten minutes after, glanced over the papers, and suddenly froze.

"He spoke in a hushed tone, 'I actually recruited one of them about six months ago, I thought they had the right connections at city hall, someone who could help us cut through all the red tape and get things done faster.'"

“You couldn’t have known,” Selene said.

“I should have vetted more carefully,” James said. “ After everything with Henderson, I should have known better than to bring anyone in without deeper scrutiny.”

They dedicated the morning to thoroughly reviewing Ross's documents, carefully checking each statement against official records and meeting notes to verify their accuracy.

By noon, the picture had sharpened considerably.

Amara looked up from her laptop, a concerned expression on her face. "This isn't just about two people," she said. "There's a pattern here. Both of these advisory board members have a history of voting against anything that would make it easier to get funding to community partners. They always seem to want to add more red tape, more review processes, and more bureaucracy." She paused, studying the data on her screen. "It's like they're trying to slow things down, to make it harder for community partners to get the funding they need."

“Slowing everything down,” Selene said.

“Keeping the gap open,” Amara said. “ The exact gap Susan Park talked about. The exact gap the foundation exists to close.”

"Money is the motive," James explained. "Certain organizations are making a profit from the current system being complicated, and they're giving kickbacks to keep it that way."

Avalon had been quiet for most of the morning, reading through the documentation, dismantling rather than just understanding.

"We have to get rid of them," he said. "Now. Before they realize we're onto them."

Amara shook her head, "It's not that easy. If we let them go without following the right steps, they could sue us for unfair dismissal and that would just lead to a whole lot of legal trouble. We need to make sure we've got everything covered, or it'll just become a big headache."

Selene got up and made her way to the window, gazing out at the city spread out below her.

"What if we just don't get rid of them without making a big deal about it," she said.

Everyone looked at her.

“What do you mean,” Avalon said.

Selene turned to face the room again, her voice filled with conviction. "What if we're open about it?" she suggested. "We've built our foundation on being truthful, on being honest with people like Susan Park, Kevin Walsh, and Daniel Frost. Why not apply the same principle here?" She paused, letting her words sink in. "We've always prided ourselves on transparency, so what's stopping us from being transparent now?"

“You want to go public,” James said slowly.

Selene suggested calling a meeting with the entire board, wanting to lay everything out on the table. "I think it's time we share what we've found," she said, "and give everyone a chance to weigh in. We've always been about transparency, so let's keep it that way - let the process be open and honest, just like everything else we've worked to build."

"I don't think we can afford to be wrong," Amara replied, her voice laced with concern. "If our facts aren't straight, it won't be a matter of exposing corruption, it'll be a matter of us losing credibility - and that's a risk we can't take."

"Then we double-check to make sure we're on the right track," Selene said. "Today is all about verifying every single detail, no matter how small. And when we're done with that, tomorrow we'll tackle this project just like we do all the others around here, with precision and care."

Avalon gazed at her, a hint of pride flickering across his face, his eyes holding a deep sense of admiration, as if he was truly seeing her for the first time.

“Tomorrow,” he agreed.

They used the rest of the day to put together a solid case, looking at financial records and voting patterns, and checking everything against the information Ross had given them. Each claim was verified on its own before they even thought about taking it to a board meeting.

As the evening drew to a close, Selene sank back into her chair, feeling drained but completely convinced.

"She gave it a firm nod. 'It's solid,' she said, her voice filled with conviction. 'Every single piece of it.'"

Amara nodded, her head moving slowly as she spoke. "I've never put together a case like this before, not in such a short amount of time."

“We had motivation,” James said quietly.

Selene’s phone buzzed.

Maya.

We've finally nailed down the wedding venue, so that's a huge weight off our shoulders. But I was wondering, have you heard anything new about the strange guy that's been causing trouble? Kofi's been acting really odd about leaving our place, and I'm getting a bit worried.

Selene's face relaxed into a gentle smile, a tiny comfort in the midst of all that had happened, the everyday feel of it a brief escape from the day's overwhelming events.

Nothing new. Stay careful. Love you.

She set the phone down.

"Tomorrow," she repeated, her eyes scanning the room where everyone had dedicated their day to safeguarding a project they had all collaborated on. "We'll take action tomorrow."

As they walked home that night, Avalon was unusually quiet, his silence a noticeable contrast to the usual easy conversation they shared.

“What?” she asked.

“I keep thinking about something Ross said,” he said. “ About watching you at the gala and believing you meant it.”

“What about it.”

"He'd created something special, something that inspired people to change their ways, even those who had spent years doing the opposite. It was a remarkable achievement, and one that shouldn't be underestimated, as he told Selene, 'That's not nothing.'"

She looked at him.

“I had help,” she said. “ Nene’s question. Amara’s structure. James’s honesty about failure. You, learning to stop managing what I know.” She paused. “ It was never just me.”

He nodded in agreement, "But you're the one who brought everything together and gave it meaning."

As they arrived at the apartment building, her phone buzzed again, breaking the silence.

An email notification.

From the federal prosecutor’s office.

Reeves has accepted a plea agreement, and as a result, the sentencing hearing has been rescheduled to an earlier date. In preparation for this hearing, we require your statement detailing the impact of the crime on you as a victim, and we need to receive it from you by this Friday.

Selene stopped walking.

"Come on, it's Friday," she said, looking at me with a sense of urgency. "We have to work on 'Avalon' today, and I mean really work on it - both of us, together, no excuses."

He looked at the message over her shoulder.

“Then we write it tonight,” he said.