But the lack of communication troubled them.
Evelyn wrote to Meridian requesting clarification.
The company's lawyers responded with a carefully worded letter claiming that the proposed transaction wouldn't affect the trust's existing rights.
Then Meridian's financial officers stopped returning calls.
Several weeks later, Amara received an unusual assignment at her translation firm.
A senior partner asked her to examine an Arabic-language supplement associated with a confidential commercial transaction.
He didn't identify the parties during their initial conversation.
He simply said the work required someone capable of understanding both the Arabic terminology and the legal significance of the document.
Amara agreed.
Then she opened the file.
The first page contained a familiar heading.
Harbor Nine Master Access and Infrastructure Agreement.
Her heart began pounding.
She recognized the document immediately.
It was the agreement her mother had helped negotiate.
Amara reported the potential conflict to her supervising partner.
She explained that she served as a co-trustee of an organization whose rights were addressed in the document. She couldn't responsibly act as an independent translator for a transaction involving that same organization without a formal assessment and appropriate separation of responsibilities.
The partner appeared irritated.
He was a polished attorney named Victor Langley, forty-six years old, with silver-rimmed glasses, expensive suits, and a habit of speaking as though every conversation were a negotiation he intended to win.
He listened.
Then asked whether Amara held a significant financial interest in Meridian.
She explained that the trust held land and contractual rights, not ordinary shares in Meridian.
He leaned backward.
"Then this is largely a historical connection."
Amara shook her head.
"It's a present legal interest."
Victor smiled thinly.
"You're a language analyst, Amara. You aren't being asked to provide legal advice."
She looked toward the document.
"But the translation affects the rights described in the agreement."
He sighed.
"Let the attorneys handle the legal significance."
Amara remained quiet.
She knew that lawyers, not translators, determined the final legal advice given to clients.
But she also knew that a translator couldn't knowingly certify words that didn't accurately reflect the source.
She requested that another analyst be assigned.
Victor refused to decide immediately.
Instead, he told her to prepare a preliminary comparison without signing any certification.
Amara reluctantly agreed, documenting the conflict and the limitations of her assignment in writing.
Two hours later, she discovered the alteration.
The original Arabic paragraph identified the Harbor Nine Community Trust as the owner of Parcel Seven and required specified authorization before the operating rights could be transferred.