Chapter 6

Charlotte's POV

That night, I received a call from the Bureau director.

He said my old building restoration plan and field assessment materials had passed preliminary review.

Especially my assessment of changes in the west load-bearing wall before the second collapse. It was very useful for the dangerous building early warning model.

I glanced at the door and lowered my voice.

"What else is needed going forward?"

The director explained the process clearly.

After entering the Rescue Research Bureau, I would be deployed overseas long-term.

Mission sites would mostly be in collapse zones, post-disaster buildings, and overseas dangerous building sites.

Communications would be managed uniformly by the Bureau. Family members couldn't contact freely.

Once review began, personal itinerary and files would be protected.

I gripped the phone and asked.

"Will my leg be grounds for rejection?"

The other end paused for a few seconds.

"The Bureau doesn't only need people who can run into sites."

The director said, "We also need people who can assess before an accident happens. Where will collapse, how to evacuate, which routes to use for entry and exit."

My hand moved to my left leg.

That leg had hurt for three years. Finally someone was saying I wasn't useless.

The director continued.

"The next step requires your current spouse to sign the family risk waiver. After signing, family members have no authority to interfere with deployment during missions, nor can they demand termination of closed management based on marital status."

"How long?"

"Three days. After that the slot moves to the next candidate."

I said.

"I'll handle it."

As soon as I hung up, the door was pushed open.

Xavier stood in the doorway.

"Who were you talking to?"

I minimized the email window.

"About the old building compensation."

Xavier's expression immediately turned cold.

"Mandy just moved in. The house should avoid mentioning the old building."

I put down my phone. "I'll handle it all cleanly as soon as possible."

Xavier walked to the desk and flipped through the stack of old building compensation details.

"Planning to use money to make a point again?"

I didn't deny it. "Some old debts need settling."

Xavier sneered. "You're best at playing the victim these years. If you really want to settle things, Mandy should get a share too."

I followed his lead. "That's fine. The compensation can be divided with her, she can keep using the rehabilitation room. As long as the documents get signed clearly afterward."

Xavier had been about to lose his temper, but hearing this he stopped instead.

He stared at me, as if trying to see whether I was making trouble again.

I handed him an ordinary settlement form.

"No rush. When all the materials are ready, we'll sign together."

Xavier glanced at it without looking closely and tossed the paper back on the desk.

"If you'd been like this earlier, there'd be a lot less trouble in this house."

After he left, I reorganized the documents.

On top I placed the old building compensation division form. In the middle I tucked the rehabilitation room usage confirmation, personal property transfer list, and family risk waiver. At the bottom I placed a draft commitment to no longer pursue the matter with the family after the old building accident.

Every page was real.

Xavier would just see the pages he wanted to see first.

I attached sticky note tabs to each signature line.

Downstairs, Mandy called Xavier, saying the rehabilitation room was missing a bedside lamp.

Xavier had the servants buy a new one.

I tucked the last risk waiver back into the envelope.

In the early morning hours, the Bureau sent supplementary mission details.

It listed several collapse zones about to be assessed, plus a risk sample for overseas old city renovation.

I read through it line by line, opened my field assessment notes, and marked several similar structures.

My left leg still ached, everything below the knee going numb in waves.

I didn't take painkillers.

I scanned my notes into the computer and put them in the same folder as the electronic copy of the risk waiver.

I renamed the folder: Materials Before Leaving.

Near dawn, the rehabilitation room door at the other end of the hall opened.

Mandy asked Xavier to watch the sunrise with her.

I closed the computer. The document envelope was already in my bag.