The Mechanic Who Saved Me

PART 2 — THE SECRET BEHIND THE SALE

I barely slept that night.

At six the next morning, I drove straight to Riverside. Ethan was already working beneath a delivery truck when I entered the service bay.

He glanced up.

“You look terrible.”

“Good morning to you too.”

“I mean, you look like someone spent the night fighting a spreadsheet.”

“Someone stole a folder with my name on it.”

Ethan slid out from beneath the truck.

“Did you find out who?”

“Not yet. But I need your help.”

He studied me for a moment.

“You’re the CEO. Don’t you have people for that?”

“I have people. I’m not sure I can trust them.”

That made him stop joking.

I explained what Rachel had discovered and showed him the documents linking Grant’s family to Northbridge.

Ethan read everything carefully.

“There’s something else,” he finally said.

“What?”

“Last month, Dennis ordered us to move several machines into storage. They were still working perfectly. He said Riverside wouldn’t need them much longer.”

“Where are they now?”

“Warehouse seventeen. But the inventory system says they’ve been written off as damaged.”

I stared at him.

“How much are they worth?”

“About four million dollars. Maybe more.”

I immediately called Rachel.

“Find warehouse seventeen’s inventory records. I want an independent inspection there today.”

Ethan shook his head.

“You’re moving fast.”

“I don’t have much time.”

“Then there’s something you should know.”

He lowered his voice.

“Yesterday, someone asked me whether I’d be interested in taking a job at another facility. Better salary, better hours. They specifically told me not to mention it to anyone.”

“Who?”

“Dennis.”

My stomach tightened.

“They were trying to get you out of Riverside.”

“Probably. I refused.”

“Why?”

Ethan shrugged.

“Because I don’t like being told when to keep quiet.”

For the first time that morning, I laughed.

But the moment didn’t last.

My phone rang.

Grant Mercer.

I answered.

“Sarah, where are you?”

“Riverside.”

“Again? We need to discuss Friday’s authorization.”

“I have a few questions about warehouse seventeen.”

There was a brief silence.

“What about it?”

“Four million dollars’ worth of supposedly damaged equipment appears to be missing from the company’s active inventory.”

“That’s an operational matter. Dennis can explain.”

“Then I’ll ask him.”

“Sarah, listen to me. You’re allowing a mechanic to influence decisions far beyond his position.”

I glanced at Ethan.

“Perhaps I should have listened to the mechanics before listening to the executives.”

Grant’s voice became cold.

“Be careful. You’re making enemies you don’t understand.”

The call ended.

Ethan looked at me.

“That sounded friendly.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be.”

Before I could say anything else, Rachel called.

“Sarah, I found the warehouse records. But there’s a bigger problem.”

“What?”

“The warehouse lease is under a subsidiary of Northbridge. The equipment was transferred there three weeks ago.”

I felt my blood run cold.

“They’ve already started moving our assets.”

“Yes. And I found something else. Grant scheduled a private meeting with two board members tonight. Neither of them is on the official agenda.”

I looked at Ethan.

Friday was approaching.

And Grant was preparing something.

“Rachel, arrange an emergency board meeting for tomorrow morning.”

“What’s the agenda?”

I looked at the mechanic standing beside me.

“Fraud, asset theft, and attempted corporate sabotage.”

That evening, I returned home to find an unexpected visitor waiting outside my building.

It was a little girl wearing a pink jacket and holding a stuffed rabbit.

Beside her stood Ethan.

“Daddy said you were the lady from his work,” she announced.

Ethan looked embarrassed.

“Sarah, this is Lily. My daughter.”

I smiled and crouched to her level.

“Hello, Lily.”

She examined me seriously.

“Are you going to save my daddy’s job?”

I glanced at Ethan.

He looked away.

I gently answered, “I’m going to try.”

Lily hugged her rabbit.

“Good. Because Daddy says he doesn’t need much money, but I think he needs a little more.”

Ethan closed his eyes.

“Lily.”

“What? You said we couldn’t afford the new bicycle.”

I laughed softly.

And in that moment, I understood something.

This wasn’t just about seventy-two employees or eighteen million dollars.

It was about families who trusted Riverside to be there tomorrow.

I wasn’t going to let them down.

But I had no idea that someone had already decided I shouldn’t be in charge long enough to stop them.