Sign the Papers Mr. Langford novel Chapter 513

Lawrence zoomed in on the photo of Leo's homework as much as he could.

The child's handwriting was still a bit unsteady, some strokes pressed too heavily, the paper slightly frayed from an eraser.

Once I didn't want to go to my dad's house for dinner, but I spoke up and said so.

She said that was brave, too.

Lawrence stared at those two lines, motionless for a long time.

The office air conditioning was turned down low, and the coffee on his desk had gone completely cold. On the computer screen, The W Report was stopped at page seven.

Those without bargaining power are the ones who most need permission to say no.

The words on both sides, separated by screens, felt like they were landing in the exact same place.

Lawrence placed his phone face down on the desk.

In the past, he always believed Leo was quiet because he had an introverted personality.

The boy ate slowly, didn't fuss, didn't talk back, and never interrupted when adults were speaking. Eleanor always said this was a good thing, that Langford children should be well-mannered. When Willow occasionally teased him and he didn't answer, she would just smile and say, "Leo takes after you, Lawrence. He's a man of few words."

Everyone had interpreted his silence in a positive light.

Only Wren would carry the child back to his room time and time again, bending down to ask, "Are you feeling unwell today?"

Back then, Lawrence thought she was being overly anxious.

Now, the child had personally written "didn't want to go to my dad's house for dinner," digging up all those years of silence at the dinner table.

It turned out he wasn't fine.

It was just that no one allowed him to say he wasn't.

A new message popped up in the bottom right corner of his computer screen.

Langford IT Division: Mr. Langford, the text comparison results for The W Report are ready.

Lawrence clicked it open.

The report was long.

The IT Division had made three sets of comparisons between the specific phrasing and risk models in The W Report and Stellaris's public materials.

The first set was language.