Russell’s voice was a frantic squeak. «No, sir! I’ve never seen that before. The girl must have planted it to make herself look good».
Victor raised an eyebrow. «Interesting. Because your name is all over the audit logs for every ‘failed’ unit in this district».
Maya stepped in, showing him the printouts. «I tracked the failure patterns. They all lead back to one digital signature. Every ‘scrapped’ unit was approved by the same login».
«And that login belongs to Russell». Russell tried to yell, but Victor held up a hand, silencing him instantly.
«A teenager just did a better job of auditing this shop than my entire compliance team», Victor remarked. He looked at the engine, then back at Maya. «And she fixed a ‘dead’ block in thirty minutes».
The silence that followed was heavy. Victor pulled out his phone. «I’m calling for a full forensic audit of this branch. Russell, you’re suspended effective immediately. Security will escort you out».
A collective sigh of relief swept through the shop. The man who had ruled with arrogance was being led away in front of everyone. The guys Russell had bullied for years watched in silence as he grabbed his jacket and left, his head down.
Victor turned to Nick. «You raised a hell of a mechanic, Nick. We need people who actually know how things work, not just how to move numbers on a screen».
Nick nodded, his eyes misty. He’d spent his life being the “quiet guy” who just did the work. Seeing his daughter stand up to the giants was the proudest moment of his life.
But Victor wasn’t done. He looked at Maya. «You said this goes beyond this shop. I want you to walk me through everything you found. If there’s a fraud ring in my company, I want it gutted».
Maya blinked. «You want me to show you?»
«Nobody else in this room saw what you saw», Victor said. «I want the person who found the problem to be the one who helps me fix it».
The mechanics, the same ones who had told her to go back to the kitchen, stepped aside to let her pass. They watched with genuine respect as she led the VP to the main diagnostic terminal. For the first time, she wasn’t “just a kid.” She was the smartest person in the room.
As her fingers flew across the keyboard, showing Victor the trail of kickbacks and fake invoices, the scale of the scam became clear. It was a multi-million dollar fraud. Russell hadn’t just been lazy; he’d been stealing from the company and the customers for years.
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