The policy gave me a clear sequence: stop release, preserve the original data, notify quality leadership, document the discrepancy, and keep the client informed.
I had done the first three. Dana had done the opposite of the fourth.
At 11:12, Dr. Hsu messaged me to say he had found the instrument log. He asked me to send the original batch file. I uploaded it to the review folder and added a short note: "CH-14 appears as a blank control in the instrument map. The amended worksheet identifies CH-14 as a patient sample. No repeat run is visible in the instrument record."
I didn't add a theory.
At 11:49, the lab's compliance manager, Nina Park, called me. She asked me to walk her through what I had seen, in order. I told her about the unsigned note, the missing repeat record, the conflicti
