Chapter 7 - The Draft
The next stage began with a narrower problem. A recovered revision shows the leaked passage existed only in Voss's copy. What mattered now was not how dramatic the discovery sounded, but whether it could survive someone else checking it.
For several seconds, Camila Price heard only the ordinary sounds of Naval Station Norfolk security section. That normal noise made the confrontation feel sharper, not smaller.
That was when training took over. Emotion could come later. First came sequence, custody, names, times, and the stubborn difference between what someone alleged and what the record could support.
"You can still walk away from this," Commander Neil Voss said.
"I could," Camila Price answered. "But the evidence would still be here when I left."
When Chief Ana Ruiz finally spoke, the voice was low enough that everyone had to pay attention. The point was narrow, factual, and dangerous precisely because it was narrow.
For Camila Price, the hardest part was accepting that a fact could hurt and still be useful. Truth was not comfort. It was a structure she could stand on when everything else moved.
Dates lined up badly for Commander Neil Voss. The more the sequence tightened, the less room there was for the explanation he had offered at the beginning.
Commander Neil Voss changed tactics when anger stopped working. He became reasonable, almost paternal, which made Camila Price more cautious, not less.
The important thing was not winning the argument in front of witnesses. The important thing was leaving the room with the facts intact.
"You keep calling this settled," Camila Price said. "It isn't settled just because you closed the folder."
"Watch yourself," Commander Neil Voss said.
"I am," she replied. "That's why I'm still asking."
Dates lined up badly for Commander Neil Voss. The more the sequence tightened, the less room there was for the explanation he had offered at the beginning.
She thought about Camila must clear her name without relying on the fact that her father is an admiral.. That desire could easily become a weakness if she tried to force the evidence to match it, so she kept writing down what she knew and what she only suspected.
What stayed with her was not the confrontation. It was the moment the story stopped belonging to the loudest person in the room.
The review room had no drama in it: plain table, legal pad, water bottle, clock that seemed louder than it should. Camila Price answered each question in order. When she did not know, she said so. That answer surprised the panel more than any accusation would have.
The practical consequence came quickly. A recovered revision shows the leaked passage existed only in Voss's copy. Camila Price wrote down what had changed and what still had not been answered.
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At home that night, Camila Price could not stop hearing the confrontation. She wrote down what she remembered, then crossed out every sentence that described what someone 'must have meant.' By midnight she had fewer words and better evidence.
Before the chapter of the day could close, one fact shifted the pressure again: Camila's copy never contained the sentence that appeared outside the command.
