Camille muted the call.
“He’s twelve.”
Evan looked.
“I know.”
“You’re treating him like a board member.”
“No.”
“I’d let a board member stay.”
She laughed.
Then unmuted.
Harlan filled the screen from Arden headquarters.
Ten directors surrounded him.
“Camille, you have frozen a two-billion-dollar redevelopment project based on unverified materials supplied by an adversarial tenant.”
Camille replied:
“The car is real.”
“That is not established.”
“The chassis plate is real.”
“Could be transferred.”
“My handwriting is on the steering wheel.”
A director looked confused.
Harlan said:
“Childhood memorabilia proves nothing about chain of title.”
“It proves the steering wheel was in my father’s possession.”
“It does not prove allegations.”
“No one said it does.”
“You have allowed federal agents access to historical corporate materials without board authorization.”
Naomi’s voice came from another window.
“Federal preservation request does not require board authorization.”
Harlan glared at her.
“I wasn’t asking counsel.”
Naomi answered:
“You were making a legal assertion.”
Camille almost smiled.
Another director spoke.
“Camille, what exactly do you want?”
“Independent investigation.”
“External forensic audit of 2004 engineering and crash records.”
“Suspension of anyone implicated pending review.”
Harlan laughed.
“Anyone?”
“Yes.”
“Meaning me.”
“You signed the internal report.”
“I was president of operations.”
“You also approved Crown Precision.”
“Along with your father.”
Camille’s expression hardened.
“My father recorded that he opposed the parts.”
“A tape.”
“Twenty-two years old.”
“Unverified.”
“Conveniently produced by the man fighting eviction.”
Evan was off camera.
Camille looked toward him.
His face tightened.
She returned to Harlan.
“Do not make this about him.”
“He has motive.”
“What motive?”
“Money.”
Evan said from the room:
“I can hear you.”
Several directors looked startled.
Harlan’s expression changed.
Camille almost laughed.
Evan stepped into camera view.
Grease-stained shirt.
No tie.
He said:
“I’ll make it easy.”
“I waive any settlement demand tied to the car.”
Maria, from the chair beside him, snapped:
“You absolutely do not.”
Evan looked at her.
“You said—”
“I said let me do law.”
“Right.”
He stepped back.
Camille covered a smile.
Even one board director did.
The tension broke for half a second.
Then Harlan said:
“This is absurd.”
Camille looked at him.
“No.”