Page 10 of Her Last Vow

"It's an enormous amount of data. That's the whole point. And that’s why Apogee is perceived as the absolute best." Oakley's enthusiasm was unmistakable now. "Most of what's out there measures fitness like it's a straight line, more steps is better, lower resting heart rate is better. But the human body doesn't work on a straight line. Everyone has a ceiling… a point where cardiovascular capacity, muscular efficiency, and recovery all converge at their absolute best, and then, eventually, that curve starts to bend the other way. What Apogee does is model that curve for each individual user and identify where that convergence point sits. We call it Peak Day."

"And you can predict this with accuracy?" Rachel said.

"We've had extraordinary success, yes. Our internal validation studies show accuracy within a narrow window for the vast majority of users who stay consistent with wearing the device." Oakley's smile widened slightly. Rachel hadn’t liked the woman from the get-go, but it was clear that she was very proud of what she had built here. "It's the reason people get so invested,” Oakley went on. “It's not just a number, it's a milestone. Something to build toward. We've had users tell us it changed how they approached their entire health, because for the first time they had a concrete date instead of a vague idea of getting healthier someday."

Rachel let a moment pass before she spoke again, wanting to make sure she had her own feelings in check. "Ms. Oakley, both of our victims died on their predicted peak day. Not near it. On it. I'd like to understand who has access to that information before it happens."

Oakley's posture shifted, almost imperceptibly, her hands settling back into her lap. "The prediction is generated and stored on the user's individual account."

"Yes, but who at Apogee can see it?"

"Our data science team has access to the aggregate model, obviously, since they built it and maintain it.” She suddenly sounded like she was reading from a script; there was something almost robotic about her voice as she went through all of this. “But individual peak dates for specific users aren't something anyone here browses through. That would be a significant privacy violation, and frankly it's not something we'd have a use for internally."

"So somebody here could see Renata Pike's specific peak date, if they wanted to," Rachel said.

Oakley hesitated, and for the first time since they'd sat down, her polish cracked slightly at the edges. "Technically, someone with the right database access could look up a specific account. But that's heavily restricted, logged, and would require justification. We take user privacy extremely seriously."

"Is the peak date visible to anyone outside the company?" Novak asked. "Family members, friends, anyone the user might've told?"

"It's private by default." Oakley said it carefully now, choosing her words with more precision than before. "A user's peak date lives inside their own account. Nobody else can see it unless the user chooses to share it. And some do choose to share it.”

"And how would someone share it?" Rachel asked.

"There's a social feature built into the app. Users can post their milestones, including their peak day, to a public feed if they opt in. A lot of our influencer partners do, because it drives engagement. It's part of what made someone like Renata such a valuable ambassador for us. She shared almost everything."

Rachel felt something settle into place, the pieces sliding closer together. "So unless a user posts it themselves, no one outside the company would know when a specific person's peak day was coming."

"That's correct." Oakley's smile had gone thinner, more effortful. "Which is why I have to say, I'm having a hard time understanding what you think happened here. I don’t mind answering your questions, of course, but I’m not sure why this has prompted an FBI investigation."

"We don’t know what happened," Rachel said. "That's why we're here."

"Gerald Mott," Novak said, making sure they stayed on point. "Did he post his peak day publicly?"

Oakley paused, and Rachel thought she saw the slightest little flicker of annoyance. “Well, as I said, I don’t recall that name. So, I'd have to check our system to confirm, but if he shared it and it appeared in the feed, that would be a matter of public record within the app itself. I can have someone pull that for you."

"We'd appreciate that," Rachel said. "Along with a list of everyone at your company who currently has database access to individual peak date predictions."

Oakley's expression tightened again, the professional warmth giving way to something more guarded. "That's a sensitive request. I'd need to loop in our legal team before I could give you something like that."

"Of course," Rachel said. "We understand there's a process and we truly do appreciate the privacy concerns. We'd just ask that it move quickly. Because as it stands, two people dead on the same day they hit their peak performance…honestly it doesn’t look good for Apogee."

"I'll make some calls today." Oakley stood, smoothing the front of her blazer, and the smile returned to her face, though it sat a little more carefully now than it had at the start. "I want to be clear that Apogee takes this seriously. If there's any possibility our technology is being misused to hurt people, that matters to us. Deeply."

"I appreciate that," Rachel said, standing as well. "One more question before we go.”

“Of course.”

“Who built the algorithm?"

"We have an eight-person model team," Oakley said. And maybe it was Rachel’s imagination, but it seemed that Oakley was glad to be speaking about another department. She seemed pleased to be able to pass the ball to someone else. "Our founder, Dr. Sloan, designed the original framework years ago, back when this was still a research project rather than a company. Our lead engineer, Tessa Kline, has run the technical side of it for the last three years. She's brilliant, honestly—one of the best people we have."

"We'll want to speak with both of them," Rachel said.

"I'll set that up." Oakley walked them toward the door, her heels clicking softly against the polished floor. "Dr. Sloan travels quite a bit, but I think he’s here today; I’m honestly not too sure. Tessa should be easier, though. She's almost always on-site. You might be able to track her down right now, actually."

"We'd appreciate anything you can arrange," Rachel said.

Oakley shook both their hands again at the elevator, her grip just as firm as before, though something in her eyes had gone more careful, more measuring. "I hope you find whatever you're looking for, Agent Gift. For what it's worth, I don't believe our technology had anything to do with what happened to those two people."