He returned to his penthouse shortly after ten and poured himself a glass of water he barely touched.
The apartment occupied the upper floors of a Manhattan tower. Its walls displayed expensive paintings, and enormous windows looked across the city toward the river.
There was no noise except the air-conditioning system and the faint hum of distant traffic.
Victor stood beside the window holding the acquisition notice.
He read page seventeen again.
Then the verification summary.
He had known Lorraine Brooks professionally.
They'd met at several industry gatherings over the years.
He remembered her as brilliant, argumentative, and unusually unwilling to accept a financial projection without examining the underlying technical assumptions.
They hadn't liked each other.
But he'd respected her expertise.
He hadn't expected her daughter to become an obstacle.
And he certainly hadn't expected to meet that daughter while she was serving Peking duck.
For a moment, his thoughts returned to the way Nia answered him.
Her Mandarin was flawless.
Her expression had remained controlled.
And she hadn't looked remotely impressed by his net worth.
That bothered him more than he wanted to admit.
He was accustomed to people adjusting themselves around his status.
Nia hadn't done that.
Then another thought intruded.
He'd threatened to have her fired.
In front of the people who were about to hear her exercise a legitimate governance responsibility.
Victor rubbed his forehead.
The humiliation was personal.
But the problem on his desk was much larger.
If the waiver was false, the acquisition documents might contain representations that could not be supported.
The financing might need to be reconsidered.
The board might question management's diligence.
And investors could demand explanations.
He reached for his phone.
Then stopped.
For the first time in years, he wasn't certain which call would help.
Elliot Voss was already trying to solve the problem his own way.
He arrived at Asterion headquarters before six the following morning.
The offices were almost empty.
He entered a private conference room and opened the transaction repository on his laptop.
For several minutes, he reviewed the waiver records.
Then he called a senior member of his financial team.
The employee answered sleepily.
"Mr. Voss?"
"I need you in the office."
"Now?"
"Yes."
The employee hesitated.
"Is there an emergency?"
Elliot stared at the screen.
"There will be if we don't get ahead of this."
By eight, several staff members were reconstructing old document histories.
Elliot described the work as an internal reconciliation.
But when one employee suggested preserving the repository's original records before making changes to any working copies, he became irritated.
"We don't need a lecture on document management."