Natalie arrives to find a newly promoted director announcing he's now her direct boss and has signed a contract that assigns a three-plus month project to someone else. Colleagues condemn her for selling her wedding ring and mix personal matters into company policy, warning she'll be fired if she doesn't keep the ring and accept the child. Natalie refuses to be controlled. She says her husband's startup needs her full attention and that FS's AI division was built by her. She invokes Mr. Fuller's promise and demands the n+3 severance plus arbitration fees be deposited, forcing the company to respond.