Mariam seemed pleased by the answer.
Then Faisal asked whether she would speak with his counsel after dinner.
Amara looked toward Celeste.
The manager was standing near the doorway, visibly distressed.
This was no longer an ordinary service issue.
Her employee had interrupted a private nine-hundred-million-dollar transaction.
Yet the interruption had occurred because the guest invited her to demonstrate her language skills.
Amara understood the difficult position Celeste faced.
She turned toward Faisal.
"With my manager's permission, sir."
The billionaire nodded.
Then looked toward Celeste.
"May I request a private conversation with your employee?"
Celeste hesitated.
Then answered professionally.
"That would require arranging coverage for her responsibilities."
Mariam intervened.
"We can contact her outside working hours. There's no need to interfere with her employment."
Amara felt an unexpected wave of gratitude.
For months, she'd watched executives treat her livelihood as something they could destroy without consequence.
Now someone in the room was insisting that the investigation not become another reason she lost her job.
Faisal considered that.
Then nodded.
"Agreed."
He turned toward the entire table.
"There will be no signing tonight."
The words fell like stones.
Kessler's face turned crimson.
Victor stared at the documents.
And Amara felt her knees weaken.
She had imagined stopping the signature.
But she hadn't imagined what it would feel like when the man controlling the money actually listened.
The meeting ended badly.
Kessler demanded a private conversation with Faisal.
Mariam refused to let anyone remove the transaction documents before an appropriate preservation process was established.
Victor insisted the alleged discrepancy could be explained by a later consent document, but when asked to identify its exact source, he said the records would need to be retrieved.
Faisal looked exhausted.
The laughter had disappeared from his face.
He instructed his advisers to preserve the current drafts and their version histories, then told Meridian's representatives the closing was postponed pending independent verification.
Kessler stood.
"You understand this could cost both companies hundreds of millions."
Faisal looked up.
For a moment, his eyes seemed very tired.
Then he answered.
"I understand signing a defective agreement could cost considerably more."
Kessler stared.
The billionaire continued.
"Bring me the original deed, the original Arabic text, and every document you claim gives Meridian the right to transfer what it doesn't own."
Nobody moved.
Then Faisal added.
"And if any material has been altered, I expect to know who authorized it."
Victor lowered his gaze.