# Dialogue Doctor - Chapter 24 - Round: Reader-Directive Sweep (2026-07-24)

Scope: full cold re-read after: Ben's arrival head-count differentiation beat; Odile's ledger-scene motive expansion ("He was handy. And he had been standing still for eleven years. I had eight Tuesdays left to do something about it."). Updated style rules applied. Prior rounds preserved on disk.

SCENE S1 (showcase crowd):
- 1: CLEAN post-edit - crowd beats carry signatures (Ben counting heads, Dom's solemn frame report, Sam's level offer, Priya's guessed coffee, Luis's dead-center dish placement, Mara letting it stand). The blend risk this round targeted is addressed by ownership of actions, not added chatter.
- 5: CLEAN - "It's meant to lean," / "Huh," is minimal because the moment is public cover; June/Theo's urn-side silence is registered ("They knew where every mark was.").
- Remaining modes CLEAN.

SCENE S2 (Ruth reads the piece): all modes CLEAN - "You didn't start this together." / "No. We didn't." / "It's the best thing on the wall," is her precision closing in kindness; within sharp-line budget.

SCENE S3 (ledger reveal, Odile/June):
- FAKE-SHARP on the new material: the standing-still expansion is motive stated plainly in her vocabulary (time, task, person); three short sentences; checked against aphorism shape and retained - it explains the book's central manipulation at the moment the reader needs it (legibility rule).
- 2: CLEAN - June's accusations run full turns against Odile's concessions; "No," she said. "It wasn't." gives the scene its floor.
- 4: CLEAN - "Did Theo know you knew?" answered directly, with the chapter's best licensed line ("He was very busy protecting me from information I already had.").
- 3: CLEAN - June's page-tearing sequence carries continuous interiority.
- Remaining modes CLEAN.

SCENE S4 (study turn + snow exit): all modes CLEAN - "It's yours," / "Don't hand me the thing you hid and call it mine." remains the correct friction; final exchange ("Maybe. Ask me Thursday." / "Thursday I'll ask.") is connected and forward-pointing; ender is earned.

OVERALL: CLEAN
