{"id":24690,"date":"2026-09-28T23:07:37","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T23:07:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=24690"},"modified":"2026-09-28T23:07:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T23:07:37","slug":"part-10-leonards-email-revealed-how-far-the-pressure-reached-but-one-missing-attachment-could-decide-whether-neglect-became-something-worse-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=24690","title":{"rendered":"PART 10 \u2013 Leonard\u2019s Email Revealed How Far the Pressure Reached, but One Missing Attachment Could Decide Whether Neglect Became Something Worse"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I did not touch the paper at first.<\/p>\n<p>My name sat there in black text beneath a corporate email that had existed for almost a year without my knowing it.<\/p>\n<p>Marcus Thorne.<\/p>\n<p>Beside it was a code.<\/p>\n<p>PR-2.<\/p>\n<p>I had seen enough recovered records by then to know it did not mean anything good.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does PR-2 stand for?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel shook her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have the attachment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe email was recovered from an archive. The attachment is incomplete.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow can half an attachment exist?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe file was overwritten later, but IT recovered fragments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I read the subject again.<\/p>\n<p>KEEP PROBLEM DRIVERS OFF CRITICAL FREIGHT.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLeonard wrote this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo Victor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Victor reply?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing in the thread we recovered.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean there wasn\u2019t one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I pointed at my name.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy am I there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel\u2019s expression was careful.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fragment lists six drivers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t give you the names.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFine. Why are we listed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know with certainty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stood.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel watched me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI need air.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMarcus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stepped into the hallway.<\/p>\n<p>The terminal sounded normal.<\/p>\n<p>Phones.<\/p>\n<p>Printers.<\/p>\n<p>Diesel engines beyond the windows.<\/p>\n<p>A forklift alarm in the yard.<\/p>\n<p>That normality made me angrier.<\/p>\n<p>For nearly a year, someone two levels above me had apparently discussed whether I belonged on \u201ccritical freight,\u201d and I had driven thousands of miles without knowing.<\/p>\n<p>Elliot saw me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan\u2019t talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat bad?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He nodded and did not push.<\/p>\n<p>That was why I trusted him.<\/p>\n<p>I walked outside.<\/p>\n<p>Cold air helped.<\/p>\n<p>I called Sarah.<\/p>\n<p>She answered immediately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou okay?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I told her about the email.<\/p>\n<p>She went quiet.<\/p>\n<p>Then, \u201cProblem driver?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s the subject.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd your name is attached.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I leaned against the building.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know what I think.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSay it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSafety complaints.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn\u2019t verified yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMarcus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can be careful without pretending patterns don\u2019t exist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I rubbed my forehead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t want to become somebody who decides guilt first and evidence second.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s not what you\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt feels close.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her voice softened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re saying something looks bad. That\u2019s different from saying you know every fact.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at the parked trucks.<\/p>\n<p>She continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ve spent your whole career making decisions with incomplete information.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTraffic is different.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I see brake lights, I don\u2019t need a legal review.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. You slow down because the risk is real.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I smiled despite myself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was annoyingly good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When I returned inside, Rachel was waiting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBetter?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I sat again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does PR-2 mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe found a reference manual.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPerformance restriction, level two.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat triggers it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe manual says repeated service reliability concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t have repeated service failures.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Leonard?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe may have received reports coded that way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I remembered Julian\u2019s customer record.<\/p>\n<p>Driver availability issue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s how they built it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel did not answer.<\/p>\n<p>I continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor takes a safety refusal, marks me unavailable, cuts premium routes, then the reduced assignments make me look like I\u2019m unreliable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are examining that possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt feeds itself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There was the shape of the system.<\/p>\n<p>A driver objected.<\/p>\n<p>The objection became a performance code.<\/p>\n<p>The code justified fewer assignments.<\/p>\n<p>Fewer assignments created weaker numbers.<\/p>\n<p>Weaker numbers justified the code.<\/p>\n<p>By the end, the original safety concern disappeared.<\/p>\n<p>Only the reputation remained.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Rachel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow many people in PR-2?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re still identifying them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAm I still coded?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen was it removed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis morning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I laughed once.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo yesterday I was still officially a problem driver.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn one legacy system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat system decides routes?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHistorically, it influenced eligibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen don\u2019t minimize it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel held up a hand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her immediate agreement took some of the anger out of me.<\/p>\n<p>She said, \u201cI should have phrased that differently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We sat in silence.<\/p>\n<p>Then she said, \u201cWould you be willing to participate in a driver review panel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCorporate wants working drivers involved in redesigning the complaint process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She blinked.<\/p>\n<p>That was clearly not the answer she expected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI drive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou also understand what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo does Elliot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI asked him too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomething involving a place where corporate could put the proposal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sounds like him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel smiled briefly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThink about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t want a committee.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt isn\u2019t a committee.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA group that meets repeatedly to discuss policy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is the definition of a committee.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou are impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo I\u2019ve heard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She handed me another page.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour restored critical-freight eligibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at it.<\/p>\n<p>PR-2 had been crossed out.<\/p>\n<p>Status: CLEAR.<\/p>\n<p>A piece of me wanted to frame it.<\/p>\n<p>Another piece wanted to burn every code in the system.<\/p>\n<p>My route that afternoon was one of the premium lanes Victor had restricted months earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Chicago.<\/p>\n<p>Good mileage.<\/p>\n<p>Reliable customer.<\/p>\n<p>A route I had not seen since the air-leak complaint.<\/p>\n<p>Denise handed me the packet.<\/p>\n<p>Her eyes stayed on the paperwork.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI used to assign you this run.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remember.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen Victor told me not to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he say why?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPerformance classification.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPR-2?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked up, surprised.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow I do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Denise swallowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said regional wanted restricted drivers off critical freight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he show you anything?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEmail.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My pulse changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom Leonard?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThink.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was printed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSubject?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDenise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m trying.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked frightened again.<\/p>\n<p>I stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis isn\u2019t an interview.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou should tell Rebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I picked up my packet.<\/p>\n<p>As I turned away, she said, \u201cMarcus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe email had an attachment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was in it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA list.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow many names?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe twenty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn\u2019t the fragment Rachel has.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know what Rachel has.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you see mine?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was next to it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked around the dispatch floor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPR-2.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd a reason?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My heartbeat accelerated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSafety conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The words landed harder than I expected.<\/p>\n<p>Not performance.<\/p>\n<p>Not reliability.<\/p>\n<p>Safety conflict.<\/p>\n<p>It meant somebody had known exactly why I was classified.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLast year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore or after the air-leak trailer?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I put the route packet down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCome with me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She froze.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRachel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m working.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis matters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Denise looked toward the regional dispatcher.<\/p>\n<p>Then she nodded.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel listened without interrupting.<\/p>\n<p>When Denise finished, she called Rebecca immediately.<\/p>\n<p>Within thirty minutes, Aaron from IT was back in the office.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you need?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p>Denise described the printed email.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you remember the file name?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFormat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSpreadsheet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cColor?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhite paper.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Aaron smiled faintly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot the page. The spreadsheet headers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Denise thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBlue?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat helps.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He searched the archive.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing.<\/p>\n<p>He tried print logs.<\/p>\n<p>That was where things changed.<\/p>\n<p>Victor\u2019s office printer had recorded a large spreadsheet job on the date Denise remembered.<\/p>\n<p>Twenty-two pages.<\/p>\n<p>File name partially preserved.<\/p>\n<p>REGIONAL_DRIVER_RISK_MASTER.<\/p>\n<p>Aaron looked up.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca said, \u201cOpen the metadata.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He did.<\/p>\n<p>Created by: LPRICE.<\/p>\n<p>Modified by: VVANCE.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan you recover it?\u201d Rachel asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Aaron ignored the question and kept working.<\/p>\n<p>He found an autosave fragment.<\/p>\n<p>Then another.<\/p>\n<p>Rows appeared.<\/p>\n<p>Driver names.<\/p>\n<p>Codes.<\/p>\n<p>Dates.<\/p>\n<p>Comments.<\/p>\n<p>Denise pointed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My name was there.<\/p>\n<p>THORNE, MARCUS.<\/p>\n<p>PR-2.<\/p>\n<p>Comment:<\/p>\n<p>SAFETY CONFLICT \/ RESISTS DISPATCH OVERRIDE.<\/p>\n<p>I read it twice.<\/p>\n<p>Then again.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody had to interpret that.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Rachel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat says exactly what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Below my name was Elliot.<\/p>\n<p>SAFETY CONFLICT \/ EQUIPMENT REFUSAL.<\/p>\n<p>Danielle.<\/p>\n<p>SAFETY CONFLICT \/ LIGHTING DISPUTE.<\/p>\n<p>Troy.<\/p>\n<p>HOS CONFLICT \/ SERVICE REFUSAL.<\/p>\n<p>The pattern was not hidden anymore.<\/p>\n<p>It was written plainly.<\/p>\n<p>Aaron scrolled upward.<\/p>\n<p>The spreadsheet contained a column labeled REGIONAL REVIEW.<\/p>\n<p>Beside several entries were initials.<\/p>\n<p>LP.<\/p>\n<p>Leonard Price.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca leaned toward the screen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow many did he review?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Aaron filtered.<\/p>\n<p>Twenty-eight.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel\u2019s face went pale.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Leonard saw them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Naomi arrived ten minutes later.<\/p>\n<p>She read the spreadsheet in silence.<\/p>\n<p>Then she asked Aaron, \u201cCan you verify integrity?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEnough for employment action?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI verify data, not employment action.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Naomi nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She called corporate counsel.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody asked me to leave.<\/p>\n<p>I wish they had.<\/p>\n<p>Listening to professionals calmly discuss what had affected years of people\u2019s lives was strange.<\/p>\n<p>Legal exposure.<\/p>\n<p>Wage remediation.<\/p>\n<p>Employment claims.<\/p>\n<p>Customer disclosures.<\/p>\n<p>Governance failure.<\/p>\n<p>Those were their words.<\/p>\n<p>My words were simpler.<\/p>\n<p>People got punished for saying trucks were unsafe.<\/p>\n<p>After the call, Naomi looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I was not prepared for that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor what this company allowed to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel lowered her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>I did not know what to say.<\/p>\n<p>So I asked the question that mattered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happens to Leonard?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis suspension remains while we confront him with this evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe reviewed twenty-eight names.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan he still claim he didn\u2019t know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe can claim anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Naomi\u2019s tone hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat matters is what the evidence supports.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I thought of Sarah\u2019s advice.<\/p>\n<p>Take a picture.<\/p>\n<p>Save the message.<\/p>\n<p>Keep the paper.<\/p>\n<p>Evidence had a patience people did not.<\/p>\n<p>It waited.<\/p>\n<p>At four thirty, Leonard joined a video conference from his home.<\/p>\n<p>I was not permitted inside.<\/p>\n<p>Neither was Denise.<\/p>\n<p>We waited in the break room.<\/p>\n<p>Elliot wandered in halfway through.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan\u2019t say.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAgain?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAgain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He poured coffee.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou look terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWelcome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Twenty minutes passed.<\/p>\n<p>Then forty.<\/p>\n<p>After an hour, the conference-room door opened.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca came out first.<\/p>\n<p>Her face revealed nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Naomi followed.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel stayed inside.<\/p>\n<p>I stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLeonard admits he knew safety disputes were part of the risk classifications.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I felt my shoulders tighten.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe says he believed the classifications were intended to keep argumentative drivers away from time-sensitive freight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s retaliation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe disagrees.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course he does.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe also says Victor exaggerated the meaning of the codes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Leonard create the spreadsheet?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen how is that Victor exaggerating it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca sighed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is one of several problems with his explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCorporate will make a decision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost asked more.<\/p>\n<p>Then the conference-room door opened again.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel stepped out holding her phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNaomi.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Something in her voice changed everyone\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel looked at me before answering.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have another terminal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She held up the phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSame codes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Naomi stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIndiana.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo connection.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLeonard?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel nodded slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRegional oversight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The problem was no longer one supervisor copying another person\u2019s bad idea.<\/p>\n<p>It had spread beyond Victor\u2019s terminal.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe beyond Victor entirely.<\/p>\n<p>And for the first time, I wondered whether the notebook we had found in his office was not the beginning of the system.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe it was only his personal version of something larger.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=24691\">Click here to continue reading: PART 11: A Second Terminal Used the Same Secret Codes, Proving Victor Had Not Invented the System Even If He Had Made It Crueler<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I did not touch the paper at first. My name sat there in black text beneath a corporate email that had existed for almost a year without my knowing it. &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24690"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24725,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24690\/revisions\/24725"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}