She welcomed the scrutiny. She brought old correspondence and explained what she remembered and what she did not. She refused to guess when the records could answer a question better. Simmons seemed relieved to hear a witness say, more than once, "I don't know."
Weeks passed. Some employees became impatient. They wanted to see Ryan arrested, the money recovered, and the story finished. Otis reminded them that criminal proceedings required evidence, not applause, and that the company's operations could not remain suspended while investigators worked. She understood the impatience because she felt it herself each time she saw a worker's hardship application or a supplier invoice left unpaid by the old administration.
The indictment came months after the original boardroom confrontation. Prosecutors alleged that Ryan Sterling, Logan Matthews, and several associates had participated in a scheme involving false consulting invoices, improper transfers, and attempts to conceal records relevant to the financial inquiry. The charges included financial offenses and obstruction-related allegations supported by the evidence presented to the grand jury. The indictment was an accusation, not a verdict, and each defendant was entitled to contest it in court.
Otis was in a planning meeting when Judith called. She asked Grace to continue the discussion and stepped into the hallway to listen. Judith told her that agents had arrested Ryan pursuant to a warrant and that he would be brought before a judge for an initial appearance. Otis closed her eyes. She felt relief, sorrow, and the peculiar emptiness that arrives when something you have feared for a long time finally happens.
Ryan's arrest appeared on television that evening. Cameras showed him leaving an office building between agents, looking furious and smaller than he had seemed in the Sterling boardroom. A reporter asked whether he regretted his handling of Otis Carter. He did not answer. His attorney issued a statement denying wrongdoing and accusing the new management of orchestrating a political campaign against him.
At the initial hearing, Ryan was released under conditions set by the court, including restrictions on contact with certain witnesses and requirements to appear for further proceedings. Otis did not attend. She was at the factory discussing a delayed shipment to a water utility, and she considered that work a more useful expression of responsibility than standing in a courtroom corridor while reporters photographed her reaction.
That did not mean the case left her life. Ryan's supporters continued calling and writing to the company, demanding his reinstatement and threatening lawsuits. His publicist published claims that the new management was failing. Some allegations were exaggerated, others drew attention to real financial problems that Otis had not yet solved. The company responded with audited results and clear explanations instead of promising a future free of difficulty.
One afternoon, Maya arrived at Otis's office carrying a folder of class certificates. She had completed her first term with high marks and had been accepted into a company-sponsored technical training track. Otis was delighted, but Maya looked uneasy when she handed over the papers. She admitted that some coworkers had begun calling her the CEO's favorite and suggesting that her success came from special treatment.