Sign the Papers Mr. Langford novel Chapter 402

"Dad," she whispered. "You'd better figure out how you're going to shield yourself if the Langfords try to pin the blame on the Whitakers."

Quentin's tone turned menacing. "Are you threatening me?"

"I'm warning you."

She ended the call.

Outside, the sky was dimming. The glass curtain walls of the building opposite Langford Medical lit up grid by grid, resembling an infinite array of locked doors.

The nursing home was located on the north side of the city.

By the time Wren arrived, night had fully descended. The grounds were peacefully quiet; the pine trees rustled gently in the breeze. A nurse wheeled a medication cart down the far end of the corridor, the casters humming faintly against the floor.

Margaret resided in the furthest suite on the second floor.

She looked a little thinner than the last time they met, a dark cashmere blanket draped over her shoulders, her silver hair meticulously styled. When she saw Wren enter, she showed no surprise, simply patting the chair beside her bed.

"Sit."

Wren sat down, resting the manila folder on her lap.

Margaret observed her. "Is Leo doing well?"

"Better than he was at The Langford Estate."

Margaret's eyes flickered faintly.

"That's good."

Those words were softly spoken, yet seemed burdened by everything she couldn't say.

Wren didn't bother beating around the bush.

"Margaret, I came today to ask about my mother and the old project."

Margaret's fingers stilled on the edge of her blanket.

The hospital room fell entirely quiet.

After a very long moment, she asked, "How much have you uncovered?"

Wren pulled out Charles' photocopied pages and placed them one by one on the bedside table.

The Project Morning Star Phase II Ethical Discussion Minutes.

Attendees.

Quentin Whitaker.

Brightstone Consulting's Quincy Lewis.

Langford Board Office Representative.

Vivian Vance objects to data outsourcing.

Margaret looked down at them. When she saw "Langford Board Office Representative," her complexion changed. Once she reached the third page and the sentence "Vivian Vance objects to data outsourcing" appeared, her fingers trembled slightly.

Wren noticed it instantly.

"Did you know about the data outsourcing?"

Margaret didn't reply straight away.

She stared at those words, her gaze dragged far back into the past.

"Project Morning Star Phase II," she began deliberately. "Back then, Langford Medical wanted to seize the market advantage with the recovery data model. The Board Office did, indeed, push for this project."

Wren's heart clenched.

"Who was the Board Office representative?"

Margaret looked up at her.

Her eyes were aged, yet they still retained the sharp clarity of someone who had long sat at the apex of power.

"Silas Langford was severely ill at the time, so many documents were funneled through The Board Office. To know exactly who attended that meeting, I would need to look at The Boardroom Authorization Log from back then."

"Does the log still exist?"

Margaret countered, "Does Lawrence know you came to see me?"

"He doesn't."

Wren cast her eyes downward.

Footsteps approached the suite, and a nurse knocked to deliver medication. Margaret accepted the pills, but instead of swallowing them immediately, she looked up at the nurse.

"Tell Eleanor Langford to come here tomorrow morning."

Wren's eyes shot up.

That was Lawrence's mother.

The nurse nodded and left.

Wren asked, "You're going to question Eleanor?"

"She had nothing to do with the projects back then." Margaret set her pills aside. "But after Silas grew severely ill, she certainly saw a great many documents passing through The Board Office."

Wren's pulse began to race.

Margaret carefully re-folded the torn pages and slid them back to Wren.

"Wren, you've investigated this far. You cannot strictly investigate the Whitakers anymore."

Wren watched her intently.

Margaret's voice was slow, but every syllable landed with devastating clarity.

"Quentin might have been greedy, or terrified, or he might have used Summit Trading to do unforgivable things. But Project Morning Star Phase II belonged to Langford Medical. If data was moving externally, it never would have left without The Board Office's explicit authorization."

She raised her eyes, the remnants of grandmotherly warmth wholly replaced by heavy resolve.

"You need to investigate the Langfords."

Wren clutched the manila folder.

In that definitive moment, she finally received the irrefutable answer she had been waiting for.

The suite's lighting cast a harsh glare on the edges of the torn pages; the yellowed paper resembled a dry bone dredged up from a long-buried past.

Margaret kept her eyes pinned to Wren, her voice dropping to a near-whisper.

"You must investigate me, too."