He turned his gaze to Martin Cole, who was standing at the side of the stage holding a thick leather binder.
"Effective immediately," Logan declared, "the entirety of the 14th-floor management structure has been relieved of duty. Legal proceedings regarding evidence fabrication, corporate fraud, and data theft have been initiated with the District Attorney's office."
The atrium remained dead silent.
"To those who have been silenced, undermined, or forced to absorb the mistakes of abusive supervisors," Logan concluded, his voice echoing through the glass hall, "your work has been recognized. The cleanup begins today."
The Forensic Audit
By 6:00 AM the following morning, Logan was seated at the head of the conference table on the 32nd floor.
Beside him, a specialized external team of forensic accountants and HR auditors were sifting through four years of digital archives pulled under the legal hold. Martin Cole sat across from him, sipping black coffee.
The findings were far worse than Logan had anticipated during his three weeks on the floor.
"It wasn't just petty office politics," Martin explained, sliding a summary report across the glass table. "It was an organized system of career suppression."
The audit revealed:
-
Systemic Credit Diversion: Over forty major operational projects completed by junior analysts had been formally re-attributed in HR records to Derek Walsh and Paula Simmons, unlocking over $300,000 in unearned performance bonuses over three years.
-
Suppressed Complaints: Seven formal grievances regarding toxic behavior and hostile work conditions filed by junior staff over forty-eight months had been intercepted by Sandra Pruitt’s HR team and quietly routed back to Vanessa Brooks.
-
Constructive Dismissals: Four highly qualified analysts who had refused to cooperate with the credit-sharing scheme had been systematically given impossible deadlines and fabricated performance reviews, forcing their resignations.
"What about Ruth?" Logan asked, reviewing a file.
"Ruth wrote the core architecture for the entire Q2 Compliance Framework," Martin replied. "Vanessa submitted it under her own name to the Executive VP. Ruth was given a 2% cost-of-living adjustment while Vanessa took a $45,000 performance incentive."
Logan closed the file. "Contact the four analysts who were forced out over the last two years. Offer them their positions back with full back-pay, promotions, and a formal written apology from the executive board."
"And the severance terms for Vanessa, Derek, and Paula?" Martin asked.
"There are no severance terms," Logan said flatly. "They are terminated for cause. Forward the forensic audit regarding the staged data breach and the fraudulent bonus claims directly to the state prosecutor's office."
A New Foundation
At 9:00 AM, Logan descended to the 14th floor.
He didn't take a security detail. He stepped off the elevator alone, wearing his simple button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.