Chapter 12 - Thomas Chooses Again
Federal prosecutors offered Thomas a deal.
If he testified against Derek and Linda, admitted taking the evidence case, and surrendered control of Porter Aeronautics, he could avoid the most serious obstruction charge.
Thomas asked to meet Evelyn.
She agreed only with attorneys present.
He looked exhausted.
“I can help protect the company.”
“You mean protect yourself.”
“I can do both.”
Evelyn waited.
Thomas admitted Derek knowingly approved the defective relays.
Linda urged him to destroy Marcus’s recording.
He took the evidence case because he believed he could remove damaging files while preserving legitimate data.
Instead, he gave the entire case to a company lawyer.
The lawyer destroyed it.
Thomas signed the false statement about Evelyn because Linda convinced him a temporary delay would save everyone.
“You keep describing choices as things that happened to you,” Evelyn said.
Thomas’s eyes filled.
“I was weak.”
“No. You were powerful. You used that power.”
He lowered his head.
She asked the question that had followed her for five years.
“Did you ever believe I lied about the mission?”
Thomas answered honestly.
“No.”
The truth hurt more than uncertainty.
He knew she was telling the truth.
He watched officials question her sanity anyway.
“Why didn’t you stop them?”
“Because if they believed you, Derek could go to prison.”
“So you chose him.”
“I thought I could fix it later.”
“You attended my promotion ceremony.”
Thomas looked confused.
“You hugged me while knowing my report had been buried.”
“I was proud of you.”
Evelyn stared at him.
“You wanted the reward of loving me without the cost of defending me.”
Thomas began crying.
She did not comfort him.
He accepted the plea deal.
His testimony would help convict Derek and Linda.
But Evelyn understood it was another calculation.
Thomas was choosing the path that saved the most of what remained.
For once, however, his choice would also expose the truth.
May you like
That did not make him innocent.
It only made him useful.
