Chapter 4

It was the sound of the current that woke me.

By the time I made it down to the underground lab with a flashlight, the water was already up over everything. The gauges on the panel were swinging wildly, and the ground-fault breaker was switched off.

There was no time to think. I threw myself at it and flipped the breaker on, then slammed the drainage system into gear.

Something must have gone wrong somewhere. The cantilever beam overhead let out a shrill hum, and then, with a heavy crash, it came down on me.

When I came to, my head was still wrapped in gauze.

The door opened. Harper appeared in the doorway, out of breath.

"Where's Kenneth?"

My eyes went red in an instant. "Harper!"

Crack.

A slap knocked me sideways to the floor. My battered forehead rang.

"What are you even good for anymore?" Harper stared at me, her eyes red. "Why did you shut off the ground-fault breaker? Do you have any idea what you did? Charlie's experiment data is all gone!"

I was shaking. "I didn't! It was already off when I got there. All I did was turn it on!"

"Ken..."

Only then did I notice Charles standing in the doorway. His eyes were red too.

"So you're saying it was me who left the breaker off?"

I clenched my teeth to stop the trembling. "When I got there... the breaker was already off..."

"Enough!" Harper looked at me. "Only an amateur like you makes a rookie mistake like that.

"How many times did I tell you? Do not touch anything that belongs to Charlie and me!

"You don't understand any of it. Why do you always think you know better?"

I stared at her, stunned.

The argument had drawn coworkers over, and they crowded in, trying to talk Harper down.

Harper gave me one cold look, then turned to go.

"Ms. Mason, where are you going?"

"Back to write the report. This accident is serious. It has to be sent up to headquarters.

"Kenneth is the one primarily responsible."

"Harper!" My eyes went wet.

"Wait, Ms. Mason." Someone stepped in front of her. "If this goes up the chain, he'll never find work again.

"And the compensation would start at seven figures.

"You know how expensive that equipment is.

"You two are still supposed to get married."

Harper's fist tightened. She looked at me.

"I don't need some arrogant idiot.

"Useless at getting anything done, good only for wrecking it!"

Those last words came out through her teeth.

I braced myself where I stood, dazed, watching the way she looked at me.

Like she was looking at an enemy.

The accident was major. In the end, the higher-ups decided to send down an investigation team. They restored the lab's surveillance and the entry logs.

"The records show only one person in the lab that day: Charles Delgado," the investigator said. "After that, in the early hours of the next morning, Kenneth James went in with a flashlight."

My forehead was still wrapped in gauze. I sat in the front row of the conference hall, head down, listening to the investigator lay it out.

Harper spoke up. "So the person who shut off the ground-fault breaker was either him or Charlie.

"I'd like all of you to think about that."

Harper stood and pointed at the surveillance footage on the big screen. It still showed me heading down into the lab with a flashlight. This was the only camera the storm hadn't destroyed, and it caught only the doorway. The breaker wasn't in frame.

Harper's voice went cold. "So do you think our company's top marine-science expert would make a mistake like that?

"Or that a jealous little salesman who knows nothing about any of it would?"

For a moment the whole hall, the investigators included, frowned.

"I switched the breaker off that day!" Charles put in right on cue. "I'm certain of it!"

"Whew, if Charlie says so, then it's probably true."

People traded glances. "Right, a rookie mistake like that, no way Charlie makes it."

"Kenneth too. What's a salesman doing in the lab? Ruined Charlie's life's work and nearly got himself crushed to death on top of it."

"Serves him right."

The team lead nodded. "As it stands, there's no one this could be but Kenneth."

Harper nodded. "Thank you, Team Lead."

They pulled me to my feet. Two of them took me by either arm and led me out.

As we passed Harper, she said quietly, "You really went too far this time.

"A little hard lesson will do you good."

I didn't answer.

Not long after, a member of the investigation team got in touch with me.

"That thing you asked us to look into, we actually turned up something. Sending it over for you to confirm."

I hurried to open the zip file. The moment I saw the photos inside, my heart pounded.

Harper.

This time, you and Charles really are going to lose everything you've built over these years.