One said, "Rebecca is blunt with everybody. People see race where it's just personality."
The investigators documented that, too.
Naomi insisted on it.
A fair investigation did not collect only the evidence that supported the conclusion she expected.
The review of Dennis Morrison was worse.
His emails showed repeated personal involvement in complaints against Rebecca despite the family relationship.
He had not simply received them through ordinary workflow. In at least nine cases, he requested the file directly.
One message to an HR analyst read: Close this as customer dissatisfaction. No need to create a career issue over tone.
Another said: Rebecca's good. Passenger is clearly looking for compensation.
A third, sent after a junior supervisor recommended formal counseling, read: Let's not punish a fifteen-year employee because someone took offense.
The most damaging evidence was not dramatic.
It was repetitive.
Every individual message could be explained away as judgment.
Together, they showed a pattern of protection.
The review team also found a retaliation concern.
Two flight attendants who had complained about Rebecca received unusually poor schedule assignments in the following bidding cycle. Dennis did not control schedules directly, but a manager who did reported to him and had exchanged messages about "team players" shortly before the changes.
That did not yet prove retaliation.
It proved there was something to investigate.
At the end of the first week, Richard called Naomi again.
"The board wants you at the press conference."
"No."
"They think your presence shows accountability."
"My presence turns my son's trauma into corporate branding."
"I agree. I'm just telling you what they asked."
Naomi stood at her kitchen window watching Elijah and his grandmother water plants on the back patio.
"You do the press conference. Kathleen handles operations. Outside counsel explains the review. I issue a written statement as a mother and COO, nothing more."
"What do you want it to say?"
Naomi had already written it.
"What happened to my son should not be treated as serious because he is my son. It should be treated as serious because he is a child and because every passenger is entitled to dignity. Usually, families without executive titles have less leverage when systems fail them. Our responsibility is to build a process that works the same way when the passenger has no platform, no influence, and no personal connection to leadership."
Richard was quiet.
"That's the headline."
"Good. Maybe people will stop calling this a story about abusing the wrong child."
The press conference took place on day eight.
Richard Carter stood at a podium with Skyward's logo behind him and said the sentence corporate lawyers had spent decades teaching executives to avoid.
"We failed."
No passive voice.
No misunderstanding.
No isolated incident language.
"We failed a child on Flight 2447. We also failed to properly investigate prior complaints involving the same employee. We are now examining whether family relationships and management practices contributed to those failures."
He announced an outside review led by retired federal judge Helen Park, supported by an employment law firm and a civil rights compliance specialist.
He announced that Rebecca and Dennis were both on paid administrative suspension pending findings.
He announced a preservation order covering complaint files, emails, training records, schedule assignments, and internal reporting data.
He did not announce guilt.
That mattered.
Several commentators complained that paid leave was too generous.
Naomi defended the process publicly.
"Suspension is not a reward," her written response said. "It is a way to separate employees from the workplace while evidence is reviewed. If we want accountability to be credible, we must be as committed to fair process as we are to serious consequences."
The statement surprised people.
Some wanted vengeance.