Chapter: The Weight of a Name
The request came in the middle of a Thursday that had no reason to be memorable.
No alarms. No red flags. No sudden failures on the bench.
Just an email forwarded by Hana at 10:03 a.m., tagged External — Do Not Ignore.
Elena read it standing up.
She didn't sit until she'd finished it twice.
"This is new," she said, and that was enough to make Jun look up from the bench.
Victor, already suspicious by default, walked over without being called.
"What kind of new," Jun asked.
Elena handed the tablet to Victor.
He read the sender first, then the domain, then the signature block. His expression didn't change, but his shoulders tightened.
"They're not asking about P1," Victor said.
"No," Elena replied. "They're asking about us."
Jun frowned. "Who."
Hana answered from the doorway. "A regional procurement consortium. Public hospitals. Informal inquiry."
Victor looked up. "Informal doesn't exist."
The email was short. Polite. Almost friendly.
