Patricia arranged a formal request for an interview.

Two days later, Stephen Vale's representative replied.

Vale was willing to discuss Project Lantern, but he would not answer questions about the Northstar proposal until he had reviewed the documents to be discussed.

The meeting was scheduled for the following Monday.

Marcus read the confirmation and looked at the growing investigation file.

The mystery had become more complicated than a missing folder. It involved an old engineering project, an acquired archive, a new commercial proposal, and a student team whose work had vanished at a critical moment.

Each discovery provided another piece of the picture.

But the most important question remained unanswered:

Had someone simply reused old technology without understanding its limitations, or had the history of Project Lantern been used to conceal the origin of a newer design?

The meeting with Stephen Vale might finally provide an answer.

Or it might reveal that the real story began long before Northstar ever existed.

PART 15 — The Witness Who Changed His Story

Stephen Vale arrived at the meeting twenty minutes early.

He chose a seat near the end of the conference table and placed his briefcase on the floor beside him. He was in his late fifties, with silver hair, a carefully pressed suit, and the composed expression of someone accustomed to negotiating difficult contracts.

Marcus noticed that Vale looked at the documents in front of him before looking at anyone else.

Richard Caldwell sat opposite him. Patricia Cole and the initiative's legal adviser occupied the seats to Caldwell's right, while Rachel Morgan represented the Open Bench Initiative. Elliot Hayes had joined remotely, ready to answer questions about Project Lantern.

The meeting was being documented, and everyone had agreed that the purpose was to establish facts rather than assign blame prematurely.

Patricia began.

"Mr. Vale, we understand that you signed the agreement transferring the Project Lantern archive to the organization that later became part of Northstar Energy Solutions. Is that correct?"

"Yes," Vale replied. "I was responsible for commercial partnerships at the contractor's office. We had been asked to evaluate several possible buyers for the company's remaining technology assets."

"Did you personally review the Lantern files?"

"I reviewed the inventory and the transfer conditions. I wasn't one of the engineers who developed the technology."

Elliot spoke through the conference-room speaker.

"Do you remember why the project was considered incomplete?"

Vale glanced at the screen.

"My understanding was that the prototype required additional validation and that the original company had decided not to fund further development."

"Did you know the project had potential applications beyond the commercial market Caldwell Industries was pursuing?"

"Not in any technical detail. The transfer documents described the intended use, but the decision about whether to continue development belonged to the buyer."

Patricia noted his answer.

"Did the agreement permit Northstar to use the technology commercially?"

"Under certain conditions, yes. The buyer could evaluate the archived work and develop its own products, subject to the restrictions in the contract."

"Could you provide the complete agreement and its technical schedules?"

Vale opened his briefcase.

"I brought them."

He handed the documents to Patricia.

The agreement was more complicated than the summary Northstar had previously provided. It allowed the acquired archive to be examined and used as a reference during product development, but it also required the buyer to preserve the original records and respect any ownership limitations attached to third-party material.

Patricia asked Vale whether he knew of any restrictions affecting the calibration method.

"I remember that the original team considered the method unfinished," he said. "I don't remember a restriction preventing all future development. The contract should make that clear."

Elliot examined the relevant page.

"That matches my recollection. The original work was incomplete, but the archive contained my team's documentation. We weren't granting ownership of every possible future solution to the same problem."

Vale nodded.

"I understand the distinction."

Marcus listened carefully. The agreement might explain why Northstar possessed the old Lantern files, but it did not establish that the company had acquired the right to use ClearCurrent's newer work.

Patricia moved to the next question.

"Mr. Vale, your name also appears in the correspondence surrounding Northstar's commercial proposal. Were you involved in preparing that proposal?"

"Only indirectly. I was asked to review an early technical appendix because of my experience handling the Lantern transfer."

"Who provided the appendix?"

Vale paused.

"It came through Northstar's product development department."

"Do you know who created it?"

"At the time, I believed it had been prepared by their engineering team."

"Did you verify that?"

"No. That wasn't part of my assignment."

Patricia placed a copy of the proposal on the table.

"Did you notice that the calibration sequence differed from the original Lantern method?"

Vale examined the page.

"I noticed that the procedure had changed. I assumed their engineers had revised it."

"Did you ask why?"

"I asked whether the revision had been tested. I was told that technical validation was underway."

"Who told you?"

"Stephen Langley, the project manager overseeing the proposal."

Patricia wrote down the name.

Caldwell's legal director searched the Northstar correspondence and found a reference to Langley in a separate commercial record. He had been responsible for coordinating the proposal's technical and financial sections.

"Did Langley ever mention ClearCurrent or the Open Bench Initiative?" Patricia asked.

Vale shook his head.

"Not during my conversations with him."

"Did you know about the students' project before Martin Cole visited the workshop?"

"No."

Marcus looked at him.

"Then how do you explain the similarities between the calibration sequence in Northstar's proposal and Olivia's team's private notes?"

Vale folded his hands.

"I can't explain them. I can tell you how Northstar obtained the Lantern archive, but I can't tell you where the newer sequence came from."

His answer was unsatisfying, but it was also consistent with the evidence so far.

Patricia thanked him and paused the formal interview while the legal advisers examined the contract.

During the break, Marcus walked toward the windows with Elliot's image still visible on the conference-room screen.

"Do you think Vale is telling the truth?" Marcus asked.

Elliot considered the question.

"I think he has explained what his documents support. Whether he's withholding something is a separate question, and we shouldn't answer it without evidence."

"That's what Patricia keeps saying."

"She's right. Investigations become unreliable when people decide what they want the answer to be before they have the facts."

Marcus watched traffic move through the streets below.

He had wanted a clear explanation ever since Olivia's files disappeared. Every new discovery seemed to provide one possible answer, only for another unanswered question to emerge.

Still, the investigation was moving forward. They now had the original transfer agreement, a clearer picture of Vale's responsibilities, and a name connected to the newer proposal.

When the meeting resumed, Patricia asked Vale to review one final document.