Page 23 - DivineSparkRising II-TheMirrorofSilenceFinal

Nicholas Boothman
Chapter 2: The Choice
Cascades
The first resignation landed like a dropped coin.
At a logistics office outside Chicago, a woman
called Priya stood up at 9:04 a.m., closed her
laptop, and told her manager she had been faking
three of her monthly reports for a year. No
speeches. No tears. She handed over a folder with
corrected numbers and a handwritten apology to
the drivers who had missed bonuses because of her
shortcuts. Then she left her badge on the desk and
walked out into the wind.
In Lisbon, Henry watched the clip on a café
screen with the volume low. The caption scrolled
without hurry. PEOPLE ARE TELLING THE
TRUTH. A barista glanced up once and then kept
steaming milk, jaw tight. A man at the corner table
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