The containment was not called that.
It was labeled Review Facilitation.
The woman from Transitional who had been escorted days earlier returned to the checkpoint with a folded document in trembling hands.
"My landlord signed it," she said quickly. "Residency confirmation."
The clerk examined the paper.
Ink smudged.
Signature uneven.
"This signature does not match registry," the clerk said.
"It's his mark."
"It's irregular."
"It's his."
The clerk looked to the enforcer.
"Escorted review required."
The woman's shoulders sagged.
"I just came from there last week," she said.
"Boundary correction created updated requirements," the clerk replied.
Lyria stepped forward immediately.
"Let me verify in person," she said.
The clerk's pen paused.
"Manual verification requires authorization."
"Then authorize it."
The enforcer shook his head slightly.
"Review Facilitation applies."
The phrase sounded neutral.
The effect was not.
The woman looked at her children again.
They stood quietly.
They had learned the posture.
"I can come back tomorrow," she whispered.
"Escort now reduces delay," the clerk said.
Derren stood beside the lantern, eyes fixed forward.
He did not intervene.
He could not.
The addendum had changed cumulative assessment.
Interference could affect his own pattern review.
Kael saw the calculation flicker across Derren's face.
He did nothing.
The enforcer stepped beside the woman again.
"Come with me," he said.
No blade drawn.
No raised voice.
Just movement.
This time, two additional enforcers joined the walk.
Not arrest.
Not detention.
Facilitation.
The line parted without instruction.
The children followed again.
Lyria took a step forward.
"Stop," she said sharply.
The word cracked against the square.
The enforcer paused.
"Directive applies," he said.
"She has documentation," Lyria insisted.
"Under review."
"She's complied."
"Pattern incomplete."
The phrase landed like stone.
Pattern incomplete.
Kael felt the weight of the addendum settle fully.
It was no longer about single acts.
It was about aggregate behavior.
The woman looked at Lyria.
For a second, hope flickered.
Lyria held her gaze.
Then she lowered her hand.
Steel is simple.
Patience is not.
The escort continued.
This time, the woman did not return by evening.
The compliance board gained a new notation.
Review Extended — Offsite.
No explanation.
No timeline.
People read it.
Then looked away.
At dusk, the checkpoint lantern burned steady.
Derren's review remained extended.
The merchant's Tier One status held.
Amber labor moved efficiently.
Tier Two and Tier Three flowed.
No riot.
No protest.
Just one household absent.
Above, Soryn received the Containment Summary.
Transitional residency discrepancy escalated to offsite review.
Public response contained.
Tier stability maintained.
She read the word contained twice.
Then she signed the corner of the report.
Not fully.
Just enough.
Below, Kael stood in the square long after the lines emptied.
He looked at the partitions.
The placards.
The compliance board.
The small line that read Review Extended — Offsite.
He did not feel shock.
He felt inevitability.
Lyria joined him.
"They didn't arrest her," she said quietly.
"No."
"They just moved her."
"Yes."
"And we let it happen."
He did not answer.
Because the square was calm.
The lines were short.
The metrics stable.
The system working.
And one family no longer walked through the lantern light.