Chapter 6 - VICTOR'S EXPLANATION
Victor did not run.
That made him more dangerous.
He hired counsel and attended the internal interview.
His explanation was technical.
The executive sample had been time-sensitive.
Liam had asked for discretion.
The lab rerouted a low-yield extraction.
Victor saw a duplicate-barcode alert and believed it was a software artifact.
He cleared it to avoid unnecessary delay.
“Why were you in the laboratory system at all?” Naomi asked.
Victor answered:
“Executive incident access.”
He did have that access.
Rarely used.
Then:
“Why not order a recollection?”
“Because Liam wanted the result quickly.”
Liam stared.
“I never told you to bypass QC.”
“No. You told me not to let anyone know whose sample it was.”
True.
Liam had demanded secrecy.
That forced unusual handling.
Victor used that.
Then Naomi asked:
“Why was sample DG-E117448-B selected as replacement?”
Victor said:
“I didn’t select it.”
Logs disagreed.
His credentials opened both records within sixty seconds.
Victor’s attorney intervened.
“Credentials are not proof of physical action.”
Correct.
Maybe someone used his login.
Then investigators found a text.
VICTOR:
Executive sample may need manual pairing.
LAB SUPERVISOR:
Which case?
VICTOR:
I’ll handle it.
May you like
Still not confession.
But narrowing.
