Daro found an older registry index in a shelf behind the archive desk. It referred to the family amendment as a temporary storm levy. The entry listed a six-year term and a council review.
Sato stood over the page. “Neither of those appears in the later copy.”
“No,” Daro said. “The mark is genuine. The expiry clause is missing from the contract version the hall has used.”
“Who removed it?” Bai asked.
“I don’t know. The index does not name the person who prepared the later page.”
Muo came to the archive after Daro sent word. He examined the stamp and the date. “The hall may have extended the levy after a second storm. The minutes are missing.”
“May have?” Sato said. “You don’t know.” She glanced at the transparent case, where the index and contract did not line up. “If the minutes are missing, you cannot use them as proof that we agreed.” Muo said the hall should not treat absent evidence as consent. Daro added that the registry had no record of the council vote either way.
“No,” Muo replied. “I won’t claim the current page gives the full history.”
