SIMULATED BRANCH · NOT CANON
Lena files the manifest discrepancy with her office before the E04 raise.
IMMEDIATE
The claim reopens under a case number Dale cannot slow-walk; the harbor office's copy of the manifest becomes discoverable within the week.
Dale
He accelerates the night dives from cautious to reckless — the hold must be empty before an inspector boards the tender.
Ruth
The quiet settlement surfaces in the insurer's file as a prior payment, and her nine-year silence turns into documented complicity.
Mara
She loses her leverage over the record — once the file is official, her dive log is evidence she no longer controls.
SEASON IMPACT
The E06 Joel reveal must move earlier or land flat: a reopened claim finds a living beneficiary faster than the town's politeness ever would.
RISK
Collapses the slow burn — three episodes of pressure release in a single filing.
OPPORTUNITY
Forces the room's strongest E05: every principal answers the same question on the record, in one episode.
SPECULATION ONLY — A BRANCH BECOMES REAL BY BREAKING IT ON THE BOARD, NEVER BY ITSELF