# Seed/Payoff Audit - Final Window / Full-Ledger Sweep

id: seed_payoff | owner: codex | tier: risk/full-book
date: 2026-07-05
window: Chapters 21-24 plus full `output/thread_ledger.md`

## Ledger Entries

- SEEDED - entry: S-ODILE-01 - planting quoted Ch 01/02: "The last spot. You two" and Ch 02's crossed-out "couples" / "pairs" / "partners" paperwork - still alive: yes - payoff due: Ch24, fired through `Park, J. - Brennan, T. Last slot.`
- SEEDED - entry: S-RULE-01 - planting quoted Ch 02: "She crossed out couples" - still alive: yes - payoff due: Ch24, fired through the opening-night list.
- SEEDED - entry: S-THEO-01 / S-CATALOG-01 - planting quoted Ch 14: all nine gray-spined catalogs loaned; Ch17 payoff quoted: `"Eileen Brennan is my mother. Odile's my aunt"` - still alive: yes - payoff due: Ch17/Ch21, paid.
- SEEDED - entry: S-OFFER-01 / S-NY-01 / S-ASHA-REF-01 - planting quoted Ch 09: "Philadelphia had a set of keys on Tasker Street. Neither one was nothing"; Ch15 prices Tasker/Dana/Kessler; still alive: yes - payoff due: Ch20-Ch23, paid through Tasker refusal, Asha referral, Dana/Kessler follow-through.
- SEEDED - entry: S-SCARF-01 - planting quoted Ch 03 scarf loan; Ch18 blue-dish tether; still alive: yes - payoff due: Ch24, paid through Mara/Luis empanada traffic.
- SEEDED - entry: S-RUTH-01 - planting quoted Ch 06 clean-exit question and Ch11 form history; still alive: yes - payoff due: Ch20/Ch24, paid through catalog route and Ruth's private read.
- SEEDED - entry: S-MEMORY-01 - planting quoted Ch 12 reciprocal memories; still alive: yes - payoff due: Ch13/Ch23/Ch24, paid through `After Class`.
- SEEDED - entry: S-FEAR-01 - planting quoted Ch 10 `"it's all maintenance"` and Ch16 fear canvases; still alive: yes - payoff due: Ch21/Ch24, paid through Theo's own work/restraint.
- SEEDED - entry: S-PORTRAIT-01 - planting quoted Ch 07 off-rack study and Ch08 faced-to-wall hiding; still alive: yes - payoff due: Ch21-Ch24, paid by finished faced-in study and June's private turn.
- SEEDED - entry: S-PRIYA-BEN-01 - planting quoted Ch 06/11 Suffolk application pressure; still alive: yes - payoff due: Ch23, paid through approved-but-not-signing / April condition.

## Payoffs Due In Final Act

- Odile knew from night one - SEEDED and FIRED. No unseeded payoff: the exact proof object is new, but the class-list/ledger/paperwork system is long seeded.
- Public fake-start disclosure - SEEDED and FIRED. The ending does not pretend the cohort receives a full confession; it pays only the artifact-readable portion.
- Portrait visibility consent - SEEDED and FIRED. Ch24 does not add a public display or trophy function.
- June stays for herself first - SEEDED and FIRED. Decision fires Ch20, is disclosed Ch22, and remains materially costly Ch24.
- First snow - LOCKED MOTIF and FIRED. No prior false snow/rain emotional peak undercuts it.

## Fired-Without-Setup Sweep

- No FIRED-WITHOUT-SETUP found for romance confession, portrait, Odile reveal, Tasker refusal, Asha Tasker outcome, blue dish, or Priya/Ben.
- Candidate checked and passed: Ch24 opening-night black spring binder. The exact binder appears at payoff, but it belongs to the already-seeded class paperwork system. Optional refresh order is appropriate only if cold readers stumble.

## Neon Planting Sweep

- No NEON-PLANTING found in final window. The Ch22 portrait terms are explicit because consent terms are the scene event, not hidden foreshadowing.
- The Ch23 final label is direct but not neon; it is the object that must be read in Ch24.

## Window Line

WINDOW chapters 21-24: 4 new future-life / resonant seeds planted - verdict: PLANTING.

- Theo's January Tuesday mornings for his own work - Ch23 schedule pocketed by Odile.
- Dana/Kessler future pressure - Ch23/24 `$800 due Thursday`, keys January 2, Kessler money in March.
- The torn opening-night page in June's coat pocket - Ch24 custody of proof.
- Future portrait term - Ch24 "Paint another one where I'm facing the right way and I'll think about it."

These are not sequel obligations; they are life-continuation seeds that keep the ending from sealing the world shut.

## Overall Verdict

LEDGER-RECONCILED.

Revision orders:
1. Optional, contingent on cold-read confusion: REFRESH the final proof mechanism by adding one minor mention of Odile's opening-night after-hours list or black spring binder in Ch02 or Ch21. Do not make it conspicuous; it should read as paperwork texture.
2. No required planting orders before the next phase. Final assembly must ensure the thread ledger and final report identify future-life seeds as deliberately resonant, not unresolved plot.
