Chapter 11 - A Brother With Two Stories
Dylan agreed to meet me only after his attorney said a private conversation was a terrible idea.
We chose a public hotel lounge with security cameras and separate entrances.
Miriam sat two tables away.
Dylan arrived wearing a watch that probably cost more than a medic's yearly salary.
He looked at my cast and then quickly looked away.
“Linda didn't mean to break anything,” he said.
“She picked up a chair.”
“She wanted you to react.”
“Then tell me who planned it.”
He rubbed his face.
“I thought she'd shout at you.”
“You filmed before she stood up.”
“Victor told me to document your behavior.”
“Because I was about to turn thirty-five?”
He stopped moving.
I watched him consider another lie.
Instead, he whispered, “Dad said if your votes transferred, the company would collapse.”
“Why?”
“Because the lenders could call the loans.”
“What loans?”
He stared at the table.
The company had pledged assets and projected voting stability in financing agreements.
Victor had told the lenders he controlled the trust block through the coming term.
My voting transfer could expose the representation as false.
“Dad said it was a paperwork issue,” Dylan continued.
“A temporary fix.”
“People nearly died from your temporary fixes.”
His eyes filled, but he didn't deny it.
“I signed what they put in front of me.”
“You had a job that required reading.”
He looked as if I'd slapped him.
For years, he had laughed at my profession because I was never the one who signed million-dollar agreements.
Now he wanted to be treated like a child who couldn't understand a signature.
“Did you know who Nightingale was?” I asked.
“Not at first.”
“When?”
“Three months ago.”
I could hear music from the hotel lobby and the soft clink of dishes.
Nothing in the room had changed.
Everything in my life had.
“You knew,” I said.
“And you still helped Linda.”
He lowered his voice.
“Victor said they could make you sign away the shares, and nobody would connect the supply investigation to us.”
“Who is us?”
He gave me no answer.
Instead, he pulled a folded piece of paper from his coat.
It was an internal cash-flow forecast.
A red line showed the company running out of accessible cash within weeks.
The heading was worse than the numbers.
PROJECT MERIDIAN — CONTINGENCY TRANSFER.
The plan wasn't just to take my votes.
It was to move the profitable assets into a new entity and leave the investigated contracts behind.
May you like
And the new entity listed Linda as its principal owner.
