A reporter raised his hand. "Do you forgive Victoria?" Darien looked toward her, then back at the audience. "I don't think the future of three thousand people should depend on whether I announce a personal feeling on a stage," he said.
"What happened was wrong. She's acknowledged it and participated in changes. I can work professionally with someone while still expecting the facts to remain part of the record."
Victoria felt the answer settle in her chest. Earlier in the year, she might have been hurt by his refusal to declare that everything was repaired. Now she understood that a public pardon would have made his experience serve her reputation yet again. She nodded once without trying to turn the answer into a friendlier headline.
An employee in the audience asked whether the company would publish future audit reports if the numbers became worse. Marcus answered immediately. "Yes, subject to privacy and legal obligations. We don't get to call the process independent only when the findings are convenient." Darien looked at him with approval. Victoria recalled the many times she had asked communications staff to replace an unfavorable number with a more optimistic description.
Another question came from a young Black founder who had traveled from Oakland. "Mr. Cole, what would you say to someone who's dismissed before they can explain what they've built?" Darien leaned toward the microphone. "You should not have to become rich to earn a hearing," he said.
"The problem belongs to the person making the assumption, not to the person carrying the idea. But when you can, find people who are willing to examine the work. Build with them. Don't spend your whole life begging the wrong room to let you in."
After the panel, Victoria followed Darien backstage to thank him privately for participating. They stood for a moment beside a table of bottled water while the next group of speakers prepared their microphones. "I know I've thanked you too often," she said. "But the company survived because you chose not to walk away from everyone connected to me. I won't forget that."
"I didn't do it alone," Darien answered. "Maya, James, Marcus, the people who spoke to the auditors, the engineers who stayed, the employees who kept customers informed. They did more than anyone outside this company will ever see." He looked through the open curtain toward the room. "And some people left because they no longer trusted the place. They deserve to be remembered too."
"I know," Victoria said. Darien regarded her without hostility. "Then keep doing the work. It doesn't need to end just because a documentary has found its ending."
They shook hands once more, this time without photographers nearby. Victoria did not feel as though a score had been settled. She felt as though she had been entrusted with a responsibility she could still fail to meet.