Vanessa raised her chin. “I didn’t steal anything that hadn’t already been copied and buried. Lily emailed part of the material to herself before she died.

I only came for the original incident report — because someone warned me the board was meeting today to destroy the remaining drafts.”

“That’s absurd,” Gregory said.

“Is it?” I asked.

No one answered. The security officer shifted, uneasy — a broad man with kind eyes who clearly regretted being assigned to a conflict between powerful doctors and their secrets.

Nathan extended his hand toward me. “Claire. Give me the drive. We’ll go home. We’ll discuss this privately. Whatever she’s told you, whatever she believes happened, I can explain.”