The first item I pulled from the envelope was a photograph.Old, the colors slightly faded with time. It showed my father, Alistair Pembroke, but younger. Maybe fifteen years ago, his hair less gray, his face less lined. He was standing outside what looked like a construction site, shaking hands with another man I didn’t recognize. Both of them were smiling, proud, celebrating something.I flipped the photo over. On the back, in neat handwriting: Lockwood Steel and Pembroke Holdings Joint Venture Groundbreaking, 2011.Lockwood Steel.Xander’s father’s company.My hands went numb.My father and Xander’s father had worked together?I set the photo aside with trembling fingers and pulled out the next items. Newspaper clippings, also yellowed with age, the paper brittle at the edges.LOCKWOOD STEEL PROJECT COLLAPSES AMID ALLEGATIONS OF FRAUDThe headline blurred as I tried to focus. I blinked, forcing myself to read.[A massive joint construction project between Lockwood Steel a
Last Updated : 2026-01-31 Read more