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Chapter 16: The Counterattack Begins
"A big gift?" Leo asked. "What kind of gift?"
"A legal procedural flaw is our sword," Roosevelt explained. "It can pierce through their defenses, but it’s not sharp enough to be fatal."
"We need all of Pittsburgh on our side. We need Mayor Cartwright and his friends to feel the scorching heat of public opinion before they even dare to act."
Early the next morning, Leo shared the new strategy he had discussed with Roosevelt the night before with Sarah, Margaret, and Frank.
The strategy for The Heart of Pittsburgh needed to change.
It was no longer enough for Leo to sit by the fireplace alone, analyzing legal clauses into the camera.
Such videos, though professional, were too distant from ordinary people.
They launched a brand-new video campaign.
The name of the campaign was simple:
Sarah designed a clean poster that read:
"Have you or your family ever received help here? Did your child spend joyful afternoons here? Did you find a new job or a new friend here? Share your story with us and help us protect our shared home."
The poster was hung on the door of the community center and plastered across every corner of the neighborhood by Frank and his old comrades.
At first, responses were sparse.
People were used to silence and hesitant to share their stories in front of a camera.
The first to step forward was George.
Sarah recorded a short video of him using her phone.
George sat on the worn-out sofa at the community center, speaking in his thick Pittsburgh accent about life after losing his job and how the computer classes at the center reconnected him with the world.
His account was plain, lacking dramatic flair, but brimming with raw authenticity.
The video was uploaded to The Heart of Pittsburgh channel.
The second story came from Rosa.
She recounted her loneliness and fear after her husband passed away and how the senior choir at the community center brought back her laughter and song.
One story after another began to emerge.
Over the next few days, The Heart of Pittsburgh entered a phase of explosive content creation.
Sarah and Leo were nearly constantly filming and editing.
They released over a dozen short videos in quick succession.
Each video featured a true story from an ordinary Pittsburgh resident.
A Vietnam War veteran covered in scars spoke about how the psychological support group at the center helped him slowly overcome the shadows of post-traumatic stress disorder.
A single mother working at a restaurant described how her child, who struggled with dyslexia, fell in love with reading at the center’s free after-school tutoring program, eventually improving grades and gaining admission to a reputable community college.
A middle-aged steelworker laid off during the financial crisis shared how he learned plumbing skills at the center’s free vocational training program and found a new job to support his family.
Each story was real, simple, and packed with emotional impact.
The production was straightforward—just faces etched with the wear of life and heartfelt accounts.
At the end of each video, Leo instructed Sarah to add a black-and-white subtitle:
"Mr. Mayor, this is what you’re planning to sell."
This series of videos completely blew up Pittsburgh’s media landscape.
Within just three days, the cumulative views surpassed a million—a staggering number for a city with only 300,000 residents.
Almost every Pittsburgher saw one of these stories on their phones.
This time, the comment sections were flooded with thousands of angry voices and messages of support.
"I cried. That single mother’s story is exactly like mine."
"I’m also the son of a steelworker. When my father lost his job, our family relied on food aid from the community center."
"Cartwright, you bastard! To please your rich friends, you’re tearing down the last refuge of the poor!"
"Where is the hearing? We’re all going to show our support in person!"
Mainstream media could no longer stay silent.
They initially tried to smear Leo with the narrative of a "radical activist stirring populist sentiment."
But now, they weren’t facing just Leo—they were confronting thousands of living, breathing stories from Pittsburgh residents.
Any journalist daring to question the authenticity of these stories would be drowned in the angry tide of public backlash.
The Pittsburgh Chronicle had no choice but to shift its reporting strategy.
They sent their best reporters into the community to interview the individuals featured in the videos.
Deeper investigative pieces began appearing on the front page.
The community center issue had escalated into a major public event capturing the attention of the entire city.
Mayor Martin Cartwright’s office phone and social media comment sections were inundated with angry citizens.
The pressure from across the city focused squarely on City Hall.
On the evening before the second hearing, Leo and his small team were making final preparations at the community center.
Dozens of community residents and volunteers packed the tiny office.
Some were printing flyers, others making calls, and still others preparing protest signs for the next day’s demonstration.
Just then, a volunteer approached Leo holding a manila envelope.
"This was just delivered by a courier. It’s addressed specifically to you."
Leo took the envelope.
There was no sender information on it.
He opened it to find a stack of photocopied A4 papers.
As soon as he glanced at them, his heart began to race.
It was an internal meeting memo from City Hall.
The meeting had taken place just two days after the city government announced the auction.
The memo revealed that Mayor Cartwright, under the guise of discussing "the city’s future development plans," held an "informal private lunch" with the CEO of Summit Development Group.
While this wasn’t direct evidence of corruption—it couldn’t prove any illegal deals made at the table—it was a clear signal of a "conflict of interest."
During the sensitive period of disposing of a public asset, the mayor had privately met with the asset’s sole bidder.
This alone was a serious violation of ethical conduct for public officials.
Holding the documents, Leo felt his hands trembling slightly.
Roosevelt’s voice echoed in his mind, tinged with satisfaction.
"Good. It seems everything is now in place."
"Child, tomorrow is our time to attack."
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