The printed email sat on my keyboard. I picked it up. The words were careful, but the meaning was clear. Chen was trying to cause doubt. He was trying to hurt the project, and to hurt me.

The handwritten question mark at the bottom was the only note. It wasn't an order. It was a test.

I didn't feel mad. I felt clear. This was an attack on my work. On the one thing I had left.

I didn't go to Vance. I didn't talk to Chen. I opened a new email.

I wrote to the Legal and Compliance department. I copied Vance and the two board members Chen had...