Sign the Papers Mr. Langford novel Chapter 130

Maya's expression instantly fell.

Wren's heart sank right along with it.

"So, what is the final verdict?" she asked.

The Chairman's tone was cordial, but left zero room for negotiation. "The review is suspended. You have three weeks to submit a revised proposal. The hospital pilot program is postponed indefinitely until then."

The room was dead silent.

Three weeks.

For a standard project, three weeks was just a routine review cycle.

But for Stellaris, three weeks was enough time for Langford to saturate the market with their patient stories, enough time for pilot hospitals to jump ship, and enough time for investors to re-evaluate their risk exposure.

Phoebe opened her mouth to argue, but Wren gently placed a hand over hers.

"We accept."

She heard her own voice say the words.

She didn't lose her composure.

She didn't argue.

Her voice didn't even waver.

But once they stepped out of the conference room and the harsh fluorescent lights from the hallway hit her, she realized her palms were drenched in sweat.

Maya had held her tongue all the way to the elevator, but once the doors closed, she finally snapped. "They totally bought into Langford's smear campaign! A three-week suspension? In three weeks, the whole project will be dead in the water!"

Phoebe looked equally grim. "The Board isn't entirely wrong. Langford just played their hand perfectly."

Wren said nothing.

The elevator descended, the digital numbers dropping floor by floor.

She stared at her reflection in the polished metal doors.

Her face was pale, faint shadows lined her eyes, and her hair was pinned back immaculately—she looked like a woman desperately holding onto her dignity.

She used to be incredibly skilled at maintaining her dignity.

She did it in the Langford family, and she did it in her work.

But sometimes, dignity was utterly useless.

Dignity couldn't force Lawrence to acknowledge her suffering, it couldn't make The Ethics Board ignore public distrust, and it definitely couldn't guarantee Stellaris a victory over Langford through sheer technical superiority.

Phoebe frowned. "Watch your hand."

Maya glanced down at her reddened knuckles, shaking her hand in frustration. "I'm just so pissed off! We poured our souls into this, and they just bottlenecked the entire project with a single article and a few PR buzzwords."

Wren suddenly spoke up. "It wasn't just the article."

Both women turned to look at her.

"We handed them the opening," Wren said, meeting their eyes. "We operated under the delusion that as long as we perfected the tech, people would inherently know we were protecting the patients. But the patients don't know that. The hospitals don't know that. The public doesn't know that. Because we never bothered to tell them why we were building it in the first place."

Phoebe's expression softened slightly. "Don't put all the blame on yourself."

"I'm not taking the blame," Wren replied. "I'm acknowledging the reality."

She used to refuse to acknowledge reality during her marriage, too.

It wasn't that she ignored Lawrence's faults.

It was that she refused to admit her own complicity in the relationship, constantly relying on silence as a solution.

She believed that if she just maintained the perfect household, Lawrence would eventually notice.

She believed that if she just built the perfect system, the world would eventually understand.