Chapter 12 - The Fire on Ashland Avenue
The foundation’s first renovated apartment building caught fire three weeks before reopening.
Miles arrived before firefighters and saw flames climbing from the second-floor windows.
No tenants were inside, but two contractors were trapped on the roof.
Miles tried to enter the building until a firefighter restrained him.
Investigators initially suspected faulty wiring.
Then surveillance footage showed a man pouring accelerant near the electrical room.
Franklin Ward had arranged the arson from jail through a former Carter employee. He hoped destroying the property would discredit Miles and eliminate archived documents stored inside.
The documents had already been copied.
The contractors survived.
Still, Miles blamed himself.
Hannah found him sitting across from the burned building at dawn.
“You cannot carry every crime committed by people connected to your family,” she said.
“I created the foundation. They attacked it.”
“And the answer is to rebuild.”
He looked at her.
“You still believe that?”
“I have to.”
Hannah had spent months rebuilding herself. She understood that restoration did not mean returning something to its original condition.
Sometimes it meant creating a structure that had never existed before.
The fire brought public support. Donations poured into the foundation. Local unions volunteered labor. Tenants helped design new safety systems.
The building reopened six months later.
Its community room was named for Richard Carter.
A smaller reading room was named for Lily.
Hannah had not suggested it.
Miles had asked permission first.
At the dedication ceremony, Hannah stood beside him while Noah toddled between their legs.
A reporter asked whether they were still married.
Hannah smiled.
“Yes.”
“Are you reconciled?”
“We are rebuilding.”
May you like
Miles looked at her.
This time, rebuilding sounded like hope.
