"You've had six years."
Daniel walked toward the door.
"Daniel."
"There was something else that night."
Daniel turned slowly.
"After Michael was taken to the medical room, Richard Caldwell met with Paul Danner in the private hospitality suite. They argued. I couldn't hear everything, but I remember Richard saying that the incident had gone too far."
"What did Danner say?"
Victor closed his eyes.
"He told Richard that it was already done."
Daniel opened the door.
He did not threaten Victor. He did not demand another answer.
Now he understood that the failure had begun before the fight ended.
Daniel stepped out onto the street.
I found something about Brent Haskins. Call me as soon as you can.
Daniel stopped beside the building entrance.
"What did you find?"
"Brent Haskins disappeared from professional competition three months after Michael's death."
Daniel looked toward the traffic.
"That doesn't prove anything."
"No. But there's more. He was later employed by a private security company connected to Richard Caldwell's business partners."
Daniel felt the familiar pressure in his chest.
"Where is he now?"
"I don't know yet."
"Find out."
"Danny, listen to me. We need to be careful."
"I know."
But for the first time in six years, the past no longer felt like a closed door.
It felt like a room full of people who had heard a young man asking for help—and chosen to keep the clock running.
The following Friday, Blackstone Combat Academy announced a special exhibition event.
The posters appeared throughout the gym before noon. They advertised an evening of demonstrations, amateur sparring, and a fundraising competition for youth athletic programs.
At the bottom of the main poster, beneath the event title, was a photograph of Ethan Caldwell.
His father had arranged the event with the gym's management, presenting it as an opportunity for Ethan to demonstrate maturity after a difficult training week.
Richard had never said so directly, but Ethan understood the language of his family. A mistake could be forgiven if it was followed by a successful performance. A scandal could be managed if the right people appeared in the right photographs.
Ethan had spent the previous three days trying to decide whether he could continue living that way.
He had searched for Brent Haskins. He had read the archived tournament reports. He had spoken to a former athlete who remembered the night Michael was injured.
But he still had no proof that Richard had ordered the clock to be reset.
On Friday afternoon, Ethan found Daniel in the equipment room.
The janitor was repairing a damaged section of padding on the wall.
"I need to talk to you."
"Then talk."
"I found out that Michael's opponent was changed before the tournament."
Daniel's hands stopped.
"Who told you?"
"Victor Sloane."
Daniel turned around.
"You spoke to Victor?"
"Yes."
"Alone?"
"Yes."
"What did he say?"
Ethan repeated what he had learned about the replacement, the extended round, and the meeting between Richard and Paul Danner after Michael was taken away.
When Ethan finished, the room seemed unusually quiet.
"Did Victor agree to give a statement?" Daniel asked.
"No."
"Then he hasn't done enough."
"I know."
"Why are you helping me?"
Ethan looked down at his hands.
"Because I think my father knows more than he's admitting."
"That's not an answer."
"Because yesterday, I realized something. If this had happened to someone in my family, and another person had spent six years trying to understand why, I'd want them to keep looking."
"I don't know if my father ordered anything. I don't know whether he could have stopped what happened. But I know that he has been protecting something."
"And I don't want to protect it anymore."
Daniel watched him for several seconds.
Then he returned to his work.
"Good."
"That's it?"
"What else do you want?"
"I thought you'd say something."
"About what?"
"About how I'm doing the right thing."
Daniel pressed the padding into place.
"Doing the right thing isn't a performance, Ethan. You don't need applause for it."
The young fighter lowered his eyes.
"You're right."
Daniel picked up the screwdriver.
"But you should understand something else."
Ethan looked up again.
"If the evidence leads to your father, you can't decide what it means before the investigation is finished. You can't protect him because you love him, and you can't condemn him because you're angry."
"What if the truth destroys my family?"
"Then your family will have to decide whether it wants to survive on the truth or on a lie."