Chapter 2 - The Audit
By noon, the flood had been contained, but the fire in Clara’s office was just getting started.
Clara sat behind her heavy mahogany desk, looking at the thick dossier her Chief of Staff, David, had just dropped in front of her. It was the Vance Enterprises zoning application.
“They want to bulldoze the old textile district to build luxury penthouses,” David explained, adjusting his glasses. “They’re asking for a ten-year tax abatement and for the city to cover the environmental cleanup costs. Thomas Vance has been lobbying the city council heavily for six months.”
Clara opened the file. The math didn't add up. Vance Enterprises had a history of acquiring low-income neighborhoods, promising affordable housing units to get tax breaks, and then quietly paying small fines to back out of those promises once the luxury towers were built.
“They’ve been doing this in three other cities,” Clara noted, her eyes scanning the financial reports. “They cut corners on safety inspections, funnel the profits into offshore accounts, and leave the cities footing the bill for the infrastructure.”
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“Previous mayors looked the other way,” David said cautiously. “Thomas Vance throws a lot of money at reelection campaigns.”
“I’m not previous mayors,” Clara said, closing the folder. “Initiate a full, forensic audit of Vance Enterprises' past projects in this state. Freeze their pending applications. If they want to build in Oakhaven, they are going to play by the rules. And I want city inspectors at all of their current construction sites by tomorrow morning.”
