Vanessa wore no dramatic expression. She spoke in concise questions and seemed more interested in policies and timestamps than in accusations. Otis liked her immediately. The young specialist reminded her of engineers who trusted measurements more than stories about what a machine ought to be doing.
"We're preserving existing material," Vanessa said. "We're documenting what the authorized systems contain and what changes have been requested. We are not deciding who committed a crime. That determination belongs to investigators who can evaluate a complete record."
The work continued through the afternoon. Several archives were found intact, but one had been queued for an unusually broad automated purge. The outside team suspended the change under proper authorization and documented the action. Jake's notification turned out to be crucial because it established when the request had been made and which office had submitted it.
At 10:46 that night, Otis returned to the building to sign a sworn statement about the preservation dispute. She entered through the staffed security entrance, the same one she had used as an employee for decades. Instead of a mop, she carried her notebook. Behind the desk, the night officer recognized her and addressed her respectfully without changing the ordinary rhythm of the place.
Judith was waiting upstairs with Vanessa and Clara Morrison. The review team had identified additional correspondence that needed to be safeguarded before scheduled system maintenance. Because there was legitimate authority to preserve it, the legal team arranged for the necessary custodians to be present. Otis watched them work without touching a terminal. She had spent her career learning to distinguish knowing something from being entitled to handle it.
The tension arrived with footsteps in the corridor. Logan appeared at the records-room door, followed by an operations manager who looked as though he regretted having come. Logan stopped when he saw Judith, Vanessa, and Otis. For a moment everyone stood under the cold overhead lights without speaking.
"Why is she here?" Logan demanded, pointing at Otis.
Judith held up the authorization letter. "Mrs. Carter is here at my request. The independent review team is acting under the board's preservation instruction and the court's order."
"These are company systems. You can't have random outsiders in there."
"I'm not a random outsider," Otis said. "And no one here is acting without permission."
Logan turned toward the IT director. "Shut the work down. Right now."
The director shook his head. "I can't do that without counsel and the independent committee's authorization."
Logan's face changed. He looked for someone in the room who would accept his authority as sufficient. He found no one. It was a small reversal, hardly visible beside the larger events of the week, but Otis understood it. A system of intimidation weakens each time a person obeys the duty attached to a job rather than the temper attached to a title.
"Mr. Matthews," Judith said, "you may provide your objections in writing. You are also instructed not to communicate with records custodians about deleting or modifying preserved material."