GREEN STATUS

THE FIRST CRACK

7:12 AM Floor 12

Elma clocked in before anyone else The floor was quiet except for the hum of the printers and the flicker of the old light above desk 47 It still flickered but this morning it felt different Like a warning that was losing its power

She sat down and opened her drawer The USB drive was still there hidden under a stack of old memos She hadn’t taken it home Last night she’d copied everything onto two more drives One with Destiny One with Nathan

If they tried to delete the original now it wouldn’t matter

At 8 00 AM Linda arrived and stopped when she saw Elma already working

You’re back early Linda said quietly Are you okay

Elma looked up and managed a small smile I’m better Thanks for the drive

Linda’s eyes widened slightly She nodded once and didn’t ask anything else Some things didn’t need to be said out loud

By 9 00 AM the floor was tense Word had spread that Elma’s suspension was lifted but no one knew why Catherine hadn’t made an announcement She usually loved making people wait

At 9 47 AM Catherine called a floor meeting

Everyone in the conference room now she said Her voice was flat

Elma followed the others in She took a seat at the back Joseph wasn’t there That alone made the room feel lighter

Catherine stood at the front Her face was cold but there was a tightness around her eyes that hadn’t been there before

Effective immediately there will be an internal audit of department records she said No one is to delete or alter any files IT will be monitoring all access Is that clear

No one answered

This is a routine check Catherine added Too quickly Routine But everyone in the room knew it wasn’t

Elma kept her face neutral She knew what had triggered it Richard Hayes had ordered the audit first thing this morning after seeing the email metadata IT had confirmed it was sent from Joseph’s account on his office computer

Catherine knew the walls were closing in

After the meeting people started whispering Linda leaned over to Elma

You did this didn’t you Linda said It wasn’t a question

Elma didn’t answer She just went back to her desk and started sorting files like nothing had happened

At 1 30 PM Elma was called to HR again

This time it wasn’t to hand in her badge It was to give a statement IT had pulled security footage from the garage Level B2 Joseph’s face was clear on camera Cornering Elma Nathan arriving Joseph leaving fast

The HR manager a quiet woman named Mrs Adebayo listened without expression

Thank you Miss Okonkwo she said We’ll be in touch

Elma walked out feeling lighter than she had in weeks

At 4 00 PM Joseph’s office door was closed All day it stayed closed No one went in No one came out

At 5 00 PM an email went out to all staff

Subject Temporary Leave of Absence

Body Mr Joseph Hayes will be on temporary leave pending the outcome of an internal review We thank him for his years of service

Elma stared at the screen She didn’t cheer She didn’t smile She just exhaled

It was the first crack

When she left the building Destiny was waiting across the street

You saw it right Destiny said holding up her phone

Elma nodded They pulled him off the floor

Destiny grinned That’s one down One more to go

Elma looked back at the Hayes Corp tower Catherine’s office light was still on

One more she said softly

Destiny linked arms with her Come on Let’s eat I’m starving

They walked away together leaving the tower behind

Up on floor 50 Richard Hayes read the same email and leaned back in his chair

He picked up his phone and dialed

Nathan he said It’s done for now But Catherine won’t go quietly Be ready

On the other end Nathan said I am Dad

Richard hung up and looked out at the city

The board would meet again in 3 days And this time Catherine would be the one sitting in the hot seat