Chapter 13 - The Letter Never Delivered
Arthur asked Victor to remain while Margaret reached into another section of her folder.
"This," she said, holding up a sealed envelope yellowed with age, "was found during our document review."
She carefully opened it.
"The letter was written nine years ago."
Arthur frowned.
"I've never seen it."
"You couldn't have," Margaret replied. "It was never forwarded to your office."
She began reading aloud.
> Dear Mr. Vance,
>
> I do not usually write letters, but I believe you should know that several experienced employees have been pressured into leaving. Many of us are afraid to speak openly because promotions increasingly depend on agreeing with certain managers rather than doing honest work...
The room became painfully quiet.
The letter continued for several pages.
It described talented employees resigning after repeated humiliation.
Departments where suggestions from older staff were ignored without discussion.
Managers rewarded for appearance instead of competence.
Most disturbing of all, the letter predicted exactly the cultural problems Margaret had uncovered years later.
Arthur slowly lowered his head.
"Who wrote it?"
Margaret looked toward Victor.
"He did."
Every face turned toward the maintenance technician.
Victor looked embarrassed.
"I wasn't trying to accuse anyone," he said softly. "I just thought... maybe someone should know."
Arthur stared at the letter.
"Why didn't you send another?"
Victor gave a tired smile.
"I assumed the first one reached you."
The legal counsel spoke.
"Our records show it never entered the Chairman's correspondence archive."
Margaret nodded.
"It was intercepted during internal processing."
Daniel looked stunned.
"That's impossible."
Margaret met his eyes.
"Nothing about this investigation has been impossible."
Another board member quietly asked, "Do we know who blocked the letter?"
Margaret pressed another key.
A flowchart appeared, tracing the document through administrative approvals before it disappeared.
Several familiar executive names appeared.
Daniel's name was among them.
May you like
His breathing slowed.
He suddenly realized that decisions made years ago—decisions he barely remembered—were now returning one by one.
