Sign the Papers Mr. Langford novel Chapter 429

At nine o'clock the next morning, the lights in the Stellaris conference room felt uncomfortably bright.

Wren sat at one side of the long table, the timeline she had compiled last night placed squarely in front of her. Phoebe was on her left, a laptop screen displaying the raw email headers, attachment access logs, and the lawyer's sealing receipt.

Joey sat at the far end of the table, dark circles under his eyes.

Maya Merritt was patched in remotely, her avatar hovering in the top right corner of the screen. Her camera was off, displaying only her name.

The online meeting with The Institutional Review Board began exactly on time.

Dr. Lewis chaired the meeting, her tone far more severe than usual.

"Ms. Whitaker, we have reviewed the public discourse from last night. Let me preface this by saying the Ethics Board acknowledges Stellaris's prompt action in submitting the materials through regulatory channels. However, until the source of the screenshots, their transmission path, and the external public sentiment are fully investigated, we recommend that Stellaris suspend all new pilot recruitment."

The conference room fell dead silent.

Joey's pen slipped from his fingers, clattering softly against the table.

Phoebe looked up. "Dr. Lewis, we did not distribute those screenshots. After the email arrived, the attachments were sealed exclusively within the confines of our legal counsel and core investigative personnel. All the records are right here."

She shared the timeline to the screen.

The exact time the anonymous email was received.

The time Wren ordered it sealed.

The time Robert Lawson intervened.

The time it was submitted to The Thorne Regulatory Channel.

The internal access logs for Stellaris.

Every line was meticulously documented.

Dr. Lewis reviewed it and nodded.

"These materials are valuable and will be included in the investigation. But suspending new enrollments is not an assignment of guilt to Stellaris."

Phoebe furrowed her brow. "But the practical impact is the same. We just passed the small-scale demonstration, and the next two families are already scheduled. If we just halt everything today, how are we supposed to explain this to the families?"