The next morning, Joneb arrived at work carrying the transparent sheet Elyra had given him.
He had spent much of the night thinking about the hidden signature.
R. V.
Roderick Valder?
Roderick Villanueva?
He did not know.
He also understood that an assumption could become dangerous if treated as proof.
He needed to verify the document.
At the personnel office, he requested to see the original certification.
The employee brought out the folder.
“Here it is.”
Joneb examined the document.
The signature was still there.
He placed the transparent sheet over it.
Nothing happened.
He adjusted its position.
Still nothing.
He remembered Elyra's instructions.
The seal first.
Then the transparent sheet.
He took the metal seal from his pocket and placed it near the lower portion of the document.
A faint glow appeared.
The hidden signature emerged.
He immediately placed the transparent sheet over it.
The writing transferred.
For several seconds, the name became visible.
R. VALDEZ.
Joneb removed the sheet.
The original document returned to normal.
He stared at the name.
Valdez.
Not Valder.
He had heard the surname before, but he could not remember where.
He thanked the personnel officer and returned to his desk.
He searched the personnel directory.
There was no employee named R. Valdez.
He searched the old records.
Nothing.
He asked a senior employee.
“Do you know anyone named Valdez who previously worked here?”
The employee thought for a moment.
“Maybe. There was a consultant years ago.”
“Do you remember his first name?”
“Not really. Why?”
“Just checking an old document.”
The employee shook his head.
“Ask the records section. They might have something.”
Joneb went to the records room.
The employee assigned there was sorting old files.
“Good morning,” Joneb said.
“Good morning.”
“May I ask if there are old personnel records from several years ago?”
“There are boxes at the back. What are you looking for?” New chapters come out on g.com first.
“A person named Valdez.”
The employee looked up.
“Rafael Valdez?”
Joneb's attention sharpened.
“Do you know him?”
“I've heard the name. He was connected to an old administrative investigation.”
“What happened?”
“I don't know the details. The records were transferred.”
“Where?”
The employee pointed toward the storage area.
“Somewhere in the old building.”
Joneb thanked him.
He returned to his desk and searched the internet using the name Rafael Valdez.
No useful result appeared.
He then searched the office's electronic archives.
A single file appeared.
ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW — RAFAEL VALDEZ.
He opened it.
The document contained only one page.
It stated that the review had been closed due to insufficient supporting evidence.
No attachments.
No findings.
No explanation.
The metal seal grew warm.
Joneb placed it near the screen.
A hidden line appeared beneath the final paragraph.
ORIGINAL REPORT WITHHELD — ARCHIVE TRANSFER PENDING.
He leaned back.
The report had been withheld.
And someone had deliberately removed the supporting evidence.
That evening, he entered Educatia again.
The archive was unusually quiet.
Orven stood near a tall door.
“You found the second version,” the old man said.
“Yes. It mentions Rafael Valdez.”
Orven's expression changed.
“Where did you see that name?”
“In an old administrative review.”
Elyra approached.
“Then the connection is closer than we expected.”
“Who was Rafael Valdez?”
Orven looked at the door.
“He was once a record keeper.”
“Like Armand?”
“Similar, but more ambitious.”
“What happened to him?”
“He believed the archive should be controlled by a single authority. He thought that if every record passed through one hand, disorder would disappear.”
“That sounds like Mr. Valder.”
Orven shook his head.
Joneb looked at Elyra.
“Is Rafael Valdez the figure who appeared in the archive?”
“We do not know,” she replied. “But he was one of the first to study the process of rewriting records.”
Joneb thought about the hidden signature.
“Why would someone use his name in my promotion documents?”
“Because the altered record is connected to a larger agreement.”
“What agreement?”
Orven opened the door.
Inside was a narrow room containing several cabinets.
He removed a document.
It was dated many years earlier.
At the top was a heading.
THE AGREEMENT OF SILENCE.
Joneb read the first paragraph.
It described an arrangement between several officials and an unnamed authority.
The agreement involved the suppression of records in exchange for protection and advancement.
He looked up.
“Is this real?”
“It is an original record,” Orven replied.
“Who signed it?”
Orven turned the page.
Several signatures appeared.
Some were familiar to Joneb.
Others were not.
One signature was particularly clear.
R. VALDEZ.
Another appeared beneath it.
V. VALDER.
Joneb stepped backward.
“Mr. Valder signed this?”
Orven closed the document.
“Someone using that name.”
“Who?”
“That is the question.”
The lights in the room flickered.
A cabinet opened by itself.
A sheet of paper slid out.
Elyra picked it up.
Her face became pale.
“What is it?” Joneb asked.
She handed it to him.
The paper contained a list of people.
Some names were crossed out.
Others were still visible.
At the bottom was a new entry.
JONEB — STATUS: UNDER REVIEW.
He looked at Orven.
“What does that mean?”
The old man answered quietly.
“It means your actions are now being monitored.”