Chapter 2

Victor had taken on a wave of new orders. Keeping the plant open through the holiday meant paying most of the crew double time.

If the machine went down during the holiday run, the delivery penalties alone could put him out of business.

“Layla, you’re really leaving?”

Her surprise lasted about a second. “Well, I guess that’s for the best.”

“Your salary was way too high, Layla.”

“Victor’s been saying for months that we can’t afford to keep you.”

She turned to him. “I know that machine. We won’t miss a single shipment.”

Ever since she’d joined, she’d been telling Victor I made the work sound harder than it was.

“Here’s the handover checklist,” I said.

It listed the machine’s recurring faults, the maintenance it still needed, and when to stop the line and call for service.

Sybilla had already blamed me for one breakdown. If it happened again after I left, I wanted a record of exactly what I’d handed over.

I’d repaired the machine myself for years. I knew its faults inside out.

“I don’t need a checklist, Layla. I know what’s wrong with it.”

I handed Victor both copies. “Read them and sign the acknowledgment on each one. I’ll keep one, and HR can file the other.”

“If there’s a problem later, I want us to be able to look back and see what we agreed to today.”

Victor read every page before passing the packet to Sybilla.

Then he passed it to Sybilla.

She flipped through it without stopping. “That’s it?”

“I’ve been doing the maintenance work on that machine myself.”

She’d done maintenance with me standing beside her. I’d never seen her finish a repair on her own.

Victor signed both copies. HR kept one and gave me the other, along with written confirmation that my resignation took effect that afternoon.

I put my copy in my bag and stood up.

“I’ll clear out my desk.”

“Security will go with you,” Victor said.

“You are not to take any company property with you.”

“Of course,” Sybilla said. “We can’t risk her walking out with company secrets.”

I’d known Victor since college. I waited for him to tell her that was enough. He reached for the phone instead.