PART SIX — THE SKETCHBOOK ON THE CONFERENCE TABLE
When the elevator opened the next morning, the entire sixth floor went silent.
Executives stood along the walls. Human Resources was gathered near the conference room. Karen was at the back with her arms folded tightly across her chest. Mr. Doyle stood beside the long table, pale and visibly unsettled.
No one pretended to work. No one looked away.
Sandra’s sketchbook lay open in the center of the table.
I recognized the yellow roof immediately. Then I saw the words beneath it: THAT MAN WILL BUY US OUR HOUSE.
My stomach dropped. I had thought I left the sketchbook in the storage room. In reality, it had been waiting there all night, holding the one piece of evidence I never knew I had.
The man in the navy suit turned the page slowly, then looked at me. His eyes moved to my name tag, just as they had the day before.
‘Emma Carter,’ he said. ‘I’m Richard Alden, the company’s chief executive officer.’
Mr. Doyle made a strangled sound. ‘Sir—’
Richard raised one hand. ‘I’ve been visiting our offices without announcing myself for the past month. I wanted to see how the company functioned when no one had time to prepare a performance.’
He touched the edge of the sketchbook. ‘Yesterday, I noticed the storage-room door was open. I saw Sandra drawing and spoke to her for less than a minute. She told me about the house.’
My face burned. ‘I’m sorry. She shouldn’t have been here.’
‘That is not what I’m asking you to apologize for.’
Richard nodded toward a screen at the far end of the room. A video began playing. The footage showed me entering the storage room with Sandra. It showed me checking on her again and again. It showed Mr. Doyle stopping outside the door, looking in, and then walking away.
The next clip showed him seeing me near the cart, waiting until other employees were close enough to hear, and confronting me in the hallway.
‘He knew she was there before he spoke to you,’ Richard said. ‘He had time to ask questions. He had time to call Human Resources. He had time to help. Instead, he waited until he had an audience.’
I looked at Mr. Doyle. ‘Tell them I called you.’
He opened his mouth, but no explanation came out.
Richard continued. ‘The phone records show three calls from Emma while she was collecting her daughter. The security footage shows you looking at your phone in your office. You did not answer.’
A woman from HR stepped forward with a thick folder. ‘We also received several formal complaints this morning. They concern public humiliation, threats, retaliation, and inconsistent discipline.’
Karen met my eyes. ‘After what happened to Emma, people finally felt safe enough to sign their names.’
For months, the office had been full of quiet fear. Now that fear had found a voice.
