Page 56 of Pocket Wife

“Yes. And the oven accounts. And the festival ration book.”

Torren swears from behind us. “They’re stealing the map.”

The officer at the door says, “Unverified documents suspected of fabrication are subject to review.”

“By whom?” I ask.

“Helix compliance.”

“No.”

The word leaves me quiet, but the square hears it.

The officer faces me fully. “No?”

“Evidence in a disputed preservation matter cannot be removed by a claimant without neutral custody.”

“Take that up with your director.”

“I already have.”

Behind the officer, something crashes inside the bakery.

Celia makes a soft sound.

Lucy pushes forward. “What was that?”

The officer blocks her.

I step between them before contact can happen. The movement is controlled. Barely.

Through the open door, I see the damage.

Shelves overturned. Flour bins split across the floor. Proofing trays crushed under armored boots. The old brick oven stands open, embers disturbed. Beside it, one Helix technician feeds a stack of papers into a portable scanner while another seals Celia’s ledger inside a black evidence sleeve marked corporate property.

Corporate property.

I enter the bakery.

The officer follows. “You are not cleared to enter.”

“This is not a Helix facility.”

“It is under inspection.”

“It is under witness protection as of this moment.”

“You do not have authority to declare⁠—”

I turn my comm outward so Kaun’s seal faces the room. The director has not spoken yet, but her channel remains active.

That is enough to slow them.

I cross to the technician with the evidence sleeve. “Place the ledger on the table.”

The technician hesitates.

I lower my voice. “If you remove that document now, every tribunal official will watch a claimant carry away the evidence it is accused of suppressing.”