Derek’s Version Of Survival
Chapter 09 - Derek’s Version Of Survival
Derek agreed to an independent interview.
He expected prosecutors to treat him as the architect. Instead, they asked when he first understood the recall fraud.
Three years earlier.
A manager showed him that warranty reimbursement kept two failing dealerships open. Graham said temporary falsification would protect six hundred jobs while the company negotiated emergency financing.
Derek approved it.
The financing never came.
The fraud became routine.
When technicians complained, Derek heard threat instead of warning. His identity depended on being the executive who never lost control.
He fired people.
He altered internal reports.
He approved bonus payments tied to denied warranty claims.
He told himself workers needed his decisiveness.
The truth was simpler.
He liked being obeyed.
Investigators asked about Claire.
Derek admitted he resented her because employees respected her without fear. He knew the trust deadline existed but believed Graham had legally extended it. Firing her seconds before activation was meant as humiliation, not strategy.
“And the key?” an investigator asked.
Derek looked down.
He had found it in Graham’s office with instructions to remove Meridian before five. Graham said the car belonged in off-site storage.
Derek decided to make Claire move it herself.
His cruelty placed the founder key in the founder’s daughter’s hand.
The mistake exposed everything.
Derek laughed once, without humor.
“My worst decision ruined us.”
The investigator corrected him.
“Your earlier decisions harmed people. This decision revealed them.”
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Derek stopped laughing.
That distinction became the beginning of accountability.
