He Declared Me Dead on Tuesday, So I Walked Into Court on Friday novel · Chapter 21 of 24

Chapter 21: Petra Calls Her Back to the Lab

On Tuesday morning, Petra puts the control-data packet in front of me and points Adrian away from the operating dashboard.

"You can observe from the marked area," she says.

"You cannot authorize anything."

Adrian stops beside the glass partition.

His hand lowers from the console.

His counsel demanded that he be allowed to observe any release decision until the court rules.

The board chair's representative agreed, from behind a strip of yellow tape on the floor.

He is holding his capped black pen.

The MercerDx operating floor is full without being loud.

Six department heads stand around the dashboard.

Nobody asks Adrian what he thinks.

I open the packet.

The first page carries the reagent lot number, the release request, and a red hold mark.

The second page is the control run.

The third is the blank run I ordered before leaving the company floor.

Petra sets the court-preserved operating log beside the dashboard.

The binder is open to the entries documenting each hold.

The pages have been tabbed by department and date.

"Final review is yours," she says.

Adrian gives a short laugh.

"That is premature. The court has not restored Lena's voting authority."

"Voting authority is not the issue on this page," Petra says.

"Release authority under the operating delegation is."

"And the delegation is under dispute."

"Your petition is under dispute. The delegation is signed, dated, and active."

He looks toward the department heads.

"We should avoid making technical decisions based on a temporary arrangement."

"We should avoid making technical decisions based on your preferences," Petra says.

"The distinction matters."

One of the quality directors lowers her eyes to hide a smile.

She fails.

I see it.

Adrian turns to me.

"Lena, sweetheart, nobody is trying to exclude you. We need a clean chain of authority while the court sorts out the personal issues."

"Keep my marriage out of the reagent review," I say.

His mouth tightens.

"I am asking for discipline."

"Then read the control data."

I slide the first chart across the table.

The control values are inside the release range.

The blank run is clean.

The new lot has not contaminated the sample channel.

The final sheet contains a variance note from quality assurance.

One control value sits near the upper limit.

It is still acceptable.

The trend matters more than the single result.

I read the raw values myself.

The instrument is stable.

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