After the call ended, Raymond asked, "You know what he wants?"
"Yes." And Maya looked through the office glass at the people still working outside. "I'm going to let him say it himself."
The call was scheduled for Thursday morning with Maya's outside counsel present on a secure line. Raymond sat near the window in her office, far enough from the desk that he was not part of the legal conversation unless Maya asked him to be.
When Everett Sloan joined, his voice was calm. "Miss Williams, I appreciate you taking the time."
"My counsel is on the line."
"I expected that."
Maya looked at the conference phone. "You said you wanted to discuss a resolution."
"I want to prevent a difficult situation from becoming unnecessarily destructive."
"Destructive for whom?"
"For everyone involved." Sloan paused before continuing. "Your company is under review. Several contracts are already affected. Your clearance status may be reassessed. None of that requires a finding that you intended wrongdoing. Sometimes institutions react to risk before they understand it."
Maya kept her voice even. "What are you offering?"
"A practical path forward."
Her attorney said, "Be specific, Deputy Chief."
Sloan did not object. "If Miss Williams voluntarily surrenders the memory card through an approved evidence channel and signs a statement clarifying that WDI's preliminary audit anomalies were inconclusive, my office can support a narrower interpretation of the incident."
Maya asked, "What does 'narrower' mean?"
"A compliance failure instead of deliberate theft or manipulation."
"You're asking me to say the audit was unreliable."
"I'm asking you to acknowledge that early technical findings can be misinterpreted."
"They weren't misinterpreted."
"That remains under review."
Maya looked toward Raymond. He gave no signal. She turned back to the phone. "And the memory card?"
"It should be in institutional custody."
"Your institutional custody."
"Evidence Integrity would receive it."
Maya was silent for a moment. "You knew about the card before I told you it existed. Now you want me to hand it to the office you control."
Sloan's tone did not change. "I understand why that sounds uncomfortable. I'm suggesting a legal process, not asking you to trust me personally."
Her attorney said, "If the card is surrendered, we would require independent documentation and federal participation."
"That may be possible."
Maya heard the condition in his answer: may be, not would be.
Sloan continued, "Miss Williams, there is still time to protect your company from a much larger disruption."
Maya leaned back. "What exactly happens if I refuse?"
"I'm not threatening you."
"I didn't say you were. I asked, what happens?"
Another pause. "WDI's existing contract reviews continue. Your company may lose access to certain protected environments. Your own actions remain subject to investigation. Clients may decide the reputational risk is too high."
"So I can be cleared eventually and still lose the company."
"That is possible."
Maya looked through the glass wall of her office: employees were already at their desks; Dana was speaking with the compliance team; Marcus had two monitors open beside a legal observer; Robert Gaines was reviewing preservation records.
Sloan said, "You can be right and still lose everything, Miss Williams."
Maya answered, "That isn't justice."
"Justice is a word. Institutions run on records."
Maya looked at the secure folder containing the false credential entries. "Then we should make sure the record is accurate."
She ended the call through counsel.
For several seconds, the office remained quiet. Her attorney spoke first: "You did not agree to anything, which is good. But he wasn't bluffing about the administrative risk."
"I know."
"We need to decide whether there is any lawful version of surrender that protects the card."
"Not until we can independently verify what it proves."
"Agreed." The attorney disconnected after arranging another compliance review.
Raymond remained in his chair. Maya looked at him. "You didn't say anything."
"You didn't need me to."
"He may be right about the cost."
"Yes."
She frowned. "That was not the answer I expected."
"You asked about the cost."
Maya stood and walked toward the window. "Have you seen people lose careers even after the facts cleared them?"
"Yes." No story followed; Raymond left the answer where it was.
Maya turned. "So being right may not save WDI."
"No."
"And you still think I shouldn't take the deal."
Raymond shook his head. "I think you should decide what you are willing to sign your name to."
"That sounds easier when it isn't your company."
"It never sounds easy." Maya looked back toward the staff. "If I sign Sloan's statement, we might survive."
"You might."
"And if I refuse, I could take everyone down with me."
Raymond leaned forward. "Do you believe the audit was wrong?"
"No."
"Do you believe the card was created to steal protected data?"
"No."
"Then signing a statement that says otherwise would not protect the company you built. It would protect its address, payroll, and logo." Maya looked at him. Raymond continued, "The part worth keeping is the reason people trusted the name in the first place."
Before Maya could respond, Marcus Reed appeared at the office door holding a tablet. "I think we found something."
Maya motioned him in. Marcus placed the tablet on her desk. "There's an older cold image at the backup facility outside the city. It predates the current administrator changes."
Maya studied the record. "Why wasn't it in the active recovery set?"