Wynn said, “You just criticized him.”
“Yes.”
“He failed.”
“Yes.”
“Then?”
Dante leaned back.
“If your system trained him that Bradford Kane mattered more than policy, firing him without examining the system only teaches everyone else to hide failure better.”
Montgomery nodded slowly.
Dante said, “He needs accountability.”
“Training.”
“Review.”
“Possibly removal from command depending on findings.”
“But not ritual sacrifice so the board can congratulate itself.”
CFO Miriam Chen spoke for the first time.
“And Bradford?”
Dante looked at the papers.
“Bradford is now the board’s problem.”
Apex counsel added, “Potentially the lenders’ problem as well.”
Montgomery rubbed his jaw.
“Do we have forty-eight hours?”
Dante looked at him.
“No.”
The room tensed.
“We have twenty.”
Silence.
Dante continued.
“Apex can wire bridge liquidity tomorrow afternoon if conditions are accepted by noon.”
Wynn said, “You’re exploiting our emergency.”
Dante looked at him.
“No.”
“I’m pricing the risk your emergency revealed.”
Wynn's face reddened.
Montgomery stepped in.
“What happens if we refuse?”
Dante answered simply.
“Apex walks.”
No threat.
No raised voice.
That frightened them more.
The board recessed at 10:03 p.m.
Dante went downstairs.
Carmen and Elena were in the lobby.
He stopped.
“What are you doing here?”
Elena looked slightly uncomfortable.
“Legal asked us to provide statements.”
Carmen added, “We finished an hour ago.”
“And stayed?”
Elena glanced toward the elevators.
“We heard the board was still meeting.”
Dante understood.
“You’re worried.”
Neither answered.
He said, “About jobs.”
Carmen nodded.
“My sister works reservations.”
“My cousin is ground crew in Miami.”
Elena said, “My son starts college next year.”
Dante looked at them.
This was what $350 million actually meant.
Not directors.
Not headlines.
People whose mortgages did not pause because an airline's debt covenants became inconvenient.
Dante sat on one of the lobby benches.
They hesitated.
Then sat too.
Carmen asked quietly, “Are you really going to let the airline fail because of what happened?”
Dante looked at her.
“No.”
Relief flickered.
Then he added, “But I’m also not going to save it in a way that guarantees the same leadership instincts survive.”
Elena nodded.
Carmen looked less certain.
Dante continued.
“If Apex wires money with no structural change, everyone breathes for six months.”
“Then the next crisis arrives.”
“Maybe bigger.”
“I don't want your sister employed for six months.”
“I want her employed in six years.”