At eight-thirty, Mariah arrived through the same glass doors where Elliot had ordered her removal four days earlier. There were no reporters inside, only a small number of employees beginning weekend shifts and two guards working beneath the subdued lobby lights. Paige Naylor stood at the reception desk, with a written visitor authorization already open on her screen. She greeted Mariah by name, offered to contact the executive conference room, and then hesitated. Mariah waited, wondering whether an apology was coming and whether Paige could bear making it.
"I should have called Mr. Whitlock on Tuesday," Paige said. "You asked me more than once, and I didn't. I knew I could make the call, but I was afraid I'd get in trouble if you weren't who you said you were."
Her cheeks flushed, and she continued before Mariah could answer. "When Mr. Vance started yelling, I was afraid of him too. That doesn't make it right. I gave a statement to outside counsel yesterday, and I told them exactly what happened."
Mariah thanked her for the statement. She did not tell Paige that everyone made mistakes or that there was no need to feel guilty. There was a need to feel the gravity of what had happened, and an equal need to act differently when the next visitor arrived. Paige seemed to understand the distinction. She directed Mariah to the elevators without another word, and Mariah saw that the receptionist's hands were trembling even as she completed the simple task correctly.
The boardroom was already crowded when Mariah entered with Nadine. Vivian sat at the head of the table, Graham was present by invitation despite his administrative suspension, and Patricia Hayes had arranged a large screen for the evidence review. Talia Monroe sat beside her employment attorney near the far wall, while Darius waited outside with the independent security supervisor who had been assigned to assist the investigation. Elliot stood behind his chair, furious that the board had gathered without him directing the seating plan. He called the meeting an unauthorized attempt to sabotage a legitimate financing agreement before anyone had presented a single document.
"Mr. Vance," Vivian said, "this is a duly convened emergency session of the board. We have questions about financing, employee retaliation, and the accuracy of public statements issued by the company. You will have an opportunity to respond. Until then, please sit down."
Elliot looked from Vivian to the other directors, searching for the easy support he had once received with a raised eyebrow. Robert Kim did not meet his gaze. Susan Martinez folded her hands over a legal pad, her attention fixed on the screen. Patricia Wells, who had expressed concern about the company's ethics procedures months earlier, looked openly angry. Elliot sat, but the gesture had the rigid quality of temporary surrender.
Nadine began by explaining the sources and authentication status of the records being presented. The board's authorized security administrator had preserved the raw incident footage, and an independent technician had verified the exported file against the original system's recorded identifiers and audit history. Darius had supplied a signed statement identifying the