Arthur put on his reading glasses.

The document was an internal proposal.

Northbridge Mall Redevelopment Initiative.

The first pages described renovations.

New retail tenants.

A luxury fitness facility.

A combat-sports exhibition area.

Arthur wasn’t especially interested.

Then Emily turned to the fifth page.

A diagram showed the proposed construction zone.

Arthur recognized it immediately.

“That’s the Red Door storage room.”

Emily nodded.

“And the Santa photo area.”

“And the community workshop.”

“All of it.”

Arthur continued reading.

The proposal listed the Red Door Project as an obstacle to the construction schedule.

The charity’s long-term agreement would prevent the space from being cleared without either negotiation or a qualifying operational suspension.

Arthur slowly removed his glasses.

“What’s this got to do with the fighter?”

Emily turned another page.

A familiar name appeared beneath the development proposal.

SLOAN PERFORMANCE HOLDINGS.

Arthur looked up.

“Sloan?”

“Derek’s father.”

Nora leaned closer.

“The man in the video?”

“His family owns the company,” Emily explained.

Arthur reread the document.

Then another name caught his attention.

Miles Trent.

Event Promotion Consultant.

A payment authorization had been issued forty-eight hours before the confrontation.

The stated purpose was a Christmas promotional activation.

The location was the Santa display.

Arthur’s expression became still.

Emily lowered her voice.

“Arthur, I don’t think that young man just happened to walk into the mall.”

Nora looked between them.

“Are you saying someone planned this?”

Emily didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, she placed one final document on the table.

It was a draft of a public statement.

Its creation timestamp was from the evening before the confrontation.

Arthur read the first sentence aloud.

“Following a serious physical altercation involving a seasonal attraction employee, Northbridge Mall has suspended the Red Door Project’s holiday operations pending a comprehensive safety review.”

He stopped.

Read it again.

The statement described an incident that hadn’t happened yet.

And at the bottom of the page was the approval signature of Northbridge’s senior property executive.

Graham Sloan’s business partner.

Arthur looked toward Emily.

“You’re telling me they wrote this before I was attacked?”

Emily nodded.

Nora’s hand went to her mouth.

For a long time, nobody spoke.