Page 92 of Rio

I feel like a phony, and this man is looking at me like I’m a saviour.The injustice, the lopsided scales of justice are all that these people have known, and people like me have benefitted from their misfortune.

We walk together.“Show me where you used to get your drinking water from.”

He leads me behind the houses, and he tells me he used to draw water from the spring beyond the mangroves.But the spring is gone.

“It is not dry,” he says.“It is blocked.It is buried.”He motions for me to follow him as he goes behind the houses.Black plastic drums line the wall, catching rain.I peer closer and see that one drum has algae on the surface.He points to the drums.“This is what we have to drink now.It’s why we have to buy bottled water.”

My stomach churns, and I feel the urge to heave.I wouldn’t give this to my pet—if I had one.

I remember the words of the Delport engineer I spoke to the one who told me that the impact would be minimal.I ask Tomas, and his eyes fill with contempt.“Maybe he said it and believed it.He didn’t say it out of experience, because he’s never lived here.”

I grind my teeth together, feeling even more ashamed.I see a lot more during the visit, and it all fills me with loathing.The eco resort means death for the habitat, and a poor quality of life for the people who live here.The rich tourists will have a great time, but will they even know at what cost?

Raquel was right, and I feel like shit for doubting her.On the ride back, Tomas is silent and staring out of the window.I wonder if he’s judging me.He has every reason to.

“My father told me the environmental audit came back clean,” I finally say.“He said the reports were exaggerated.I was told that the mangroves were already degraded before we arrived.”

“You believed him?”

“I had no reason to.”

“Maybe you believed it because it suited you.”

“I was sent here not knowing the truth.I was sold a lie, and now my eyes are open.”

“Then you understand why EcoGuardians did what they did.”

That hits like a punch to my stomach.Even Tomas knows we’re on the wrong side.I drop him off to his small raised wooden house.It’s built on stilts to protect from floods.It’s a world away from my hotel suite, and I feel even more guilty as I drive away, feeling sick to my stomach, wallowing in my wretchedness, with a dawning realization that Knight Enterprises is truly one of the bad guys.

I can’t forget the algae drifting across the surface of the water drum, just like I can’t forget the children’s faces as they watched me walking around.It doesn’t sit well with me that they’ll grow up in this, while the guests at the eco resort enjoy a wonderful vacation.They’ll leave without knowing the abject misery of the people who have suffered, people who will never experience what they did.

It’s a good thing that Delport Realty has been forced to stop all building activity while we wait on the court’s decision.

The old man was furious and wants me to fix it, but I can’t overturn this decision.Nor do I have any intention of trying.

Delport Realty are scrambling to gather evidence—counterevidence, or at least something to reassess the permits.But this time, I’m here to fix what I think my family has caused—indirectly—through Delport.

I’m starting to see things as Raquel saw them.

Chapter 29

RAQUEL

I read Dani’s text:

You’ve been quiet.Are you OK?

I should respond.This is the third one she’s sent me, and I was so busy in Belize, first with the injunction, then with Rio, to reply.I don’t want to let anything slip about me and Rio, so I text back and tell her I’m fine.I tell her that I’ve had a busy week in Belize working on a case.

Just as I set down my phone, an email pings through.It’s from Alma.She says the court has paused enforcement of the injunction pending supplemental review of jurisdictional scope and site-specific evidence.

Hmmmm.Not what I wanted, but, this is normal.The Belize judiciary wants more evidence before making the injunction permanent.These things happen.It’s a procedural issue.I feel confident we’ve done enough for now.At the same time Rio calls me, and my pulse races.

“Hey.”His voice is slow and gravelly, and it excites me.I could talk all night to him.“The inunction has been paused.”

“I know.Alma told me.”

“What does this mean?”