The board's first emergency meeting took place while Sadie was still visiting. Nathaniel Carrington arrived at Whitmore headquarters with two independent directors, outside contract counsel, and a notebook thick with questions. He was in his late sixties, a man whose loyalty to the company dated back to his father and whose loyalty to Cassandra had once been nearly automatic. But the audit documents had forced him to reconsider whether preserving the family name meant protecting its latest leader from accountability.
Cassandra wanted Mason present. Her reasoning was tactical: if she could persuade him to describe the matter as a correctable supply issue rather than a broader failure of management, she might regain enough trust to save the contract. Nathaniel agreed to hear directly from the engineer who had reported the discrepancy, although he was increasingly unwilling to accept any promise that was not supported by verifiable action. Preston, sensing an opening, requested a private meeting with Mason before the board session began.
The invitation arrived through a company lawyer who described it as an opportunity to discuss reinstatement. Mason asked that all discussions affecting his report or future testimony be placed on the record. Preston nevertheless proposed a brief conversation in a conference room away from the main hearing. Mason agreed only after notifying Claire and his attorney that the request had been made, and he asked for the meeting's purpose to be noted in writing.
Preston entered smiling. He offered Mason a new title: director of quality assurance, reporting to the chief operating officer, with a generous salary and back pay to compensate for the dismissal. He said the company needed experienced people who understood the Sentinel's history, and that Mason could help restore confidence quickly. For a moment it sounded like an acknowledgment of everything Cassandra had refused to hear.
Then Preston added the condition. The public explanation would describe the fastener failure as a one-time shipping irregularity unrelated to the broader qualification of the aircraft. Mason would endorse the planned corrective actions, avoid discussing the unfinished inventory audit, and help the board present the program as ready to resume. The rest of the uncertified parts would be replaced quietly over time after the funding milestone was secured.
Mason set his pen on the table. "So you want me to certify a conclusion before the inspection is finished."
"I want you to be realistic about what is at stake," Preston replied. "We can make the replacements. We can make everybody whole. But we need the contract alive while we do it."
"The contract requires us to tell the customer what we're building," Mason said. "Changing the material in secret doesn't become acceptable because we promise to correct it later."
Preston leaned forward. "Do you have any idea what a director earns compared with an inspector? This is the opportunity people spend their whole careers waiting for. You could pay your daughter's education without worrying about another bill."