Chapter 9 - When the Fire Reached Beyond the Family
The fire investigation eventually reached city inspectors, insurance engineers, contractors, and attorneys.
What had begun as one terrifying night became months of paperwork.
The west wing was condemned pending major structural work.
The electrical system in multiple sections failed inspection.
Ryan’s insurer issued a reservation-of-rights letter while it evaluated the known-hazard history.
It was not a denial.
It was not good news either.
Ryan’s employer granted him temporary flexibility, but missing site visits began affecting projects.
Claire reduced her volunteer commitments at Sophie’s school because Sophie refused to be separated from both parents at night.
Everyone paid for Linda’s secrecy in different ways.
Extended family began choosing sides.
One aunt called Ryan cruel for “putting an old woman through an investigation after she almost died.”
Melissa responded before Ryan could.
“Sophie almost died too.”
The aunt stopped calling.
Linda’s rehabilitation facility became another battlefield.
She told visitors Ryan was trying to take the mansion from her.
Legally, it had not belonged to Linda since Thomas’s estate was settled.
Emotionally, she had never accepted that.
Then the fire investigator requested records from a small electrical service company Ryan had never heard of.
A payment from Linda’s personal checking account had appeared twelve months earlier.
The company no longer operated under that name.
The owner, Wade Collins, was not a licensed electrical contractor.
He described himself as a general home-repair specialist.
Ryan felt sick before anyone even interviewed him.
When Collins finally spoke to the investigator, he confirmed Linda had hired him for work in the west wing after a licensed company disconnected the circuit.
Ryan’s attorney cautioned him.
“Do not jump to conclusions about exactly what he did.”
So Ryan waited.
Three days later, the investigator called.
Collins admitted he had restored power.
He claimed Linda told him the licensed contractor had overreacted and that the family needed the rooms operational.
He said he believed the problem had been exaggerated.
He also admitted he had no business making that judgment.
Ryan asked one question.
“Did Mom know he wasn’t licensed for electrical work?”
The investigator answered carefully.
“She paid him in cash from her personal account after a licensed contractor refused to reconnect that section without broader repairs.”
Ryan sat down.
This was no longer about forgetting an estimate.
Linda had deliberately found someone willing to undo a safety decision.
Still, one question remained.
Why had she been so desperate to keep that part of the mansion functioning?
The answer came from an old calendar Claire found in a box recovered from storage.
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The date of Collins’s work coincided with something Ryan had completely forgotten.
A realtor had been scheduled to visit the mansion the next morning.
