She nodded.
“Go ahead.”
“This isn't a demand for a personal apology in exchange for releasing investor money.”
Her expression softened.
“I understand.”
I continued.
“We had outstanding diligence concerns before this morning. The events aboard the aircraft raise additional questions about governance and executive conduct. The committee needs to determine whether the conditions for the scheduled drawdown remain satisfied.”
Catherine nodded.
“We'll cooperate.”
Eleanor leaned forward.
“We need accurate preservation of the reservation records, communications concerning seat 2A, instructions to security, and any incident reports. We also need the outstanding financial and operational reconciliations.”
Catherine made notes.
“Understood.”
Then Maya spoke.
“Our team is prepared to work quickly. We don't want to create avoidable harm to employees, customers, or operations. But the review must be independent.”
Catherine looked toward the screen.
For a moment, she seemed relieved.
“Thank you.”
I studied her.
Then asked, “Where is Leonard Pike?”
Her expression changed.
“He's in New York preparing for the board meeting.”
“Does he know about the drawdown hold?”
“Yes.”
I took a breath.
“Has he provided the remaining maintenance and expense reconciliations?”
She hesitated.
“His office says they're nearly complete.”
I looked toward Maya.
She didn't react.
Then I turned back to Catherine.
“We've heard that for three weeks.”
The CFO's jaw tightened.
“I know.”
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then she said something that made the meeting feel different.
“Adrian, I want those records too.”
I leaned forward.
“What do you mean?”
Catherine took a breath.
“Some of the underlying schedules were prepared outside the ordinary finance reporting process. I've been requesting additional detail.”
I stared.
“The CFO doesn't have access to the supporting schedules?”
She shook her head.
“Not all of them in final reconciled form.”
For a moment, I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
A seven-hundred-million-dollar financing was approaching its first drawdown, and the airline's own chief financial officer was still requesting information supporting the financial representations.
That didn't automatically mean the company had committed fraud.
But it was a serious control problem.
I looked toward Eleanor.
She nodded slightly.
Then I turned back toward Catherine.
“Please document every outstanding item and provide it through the agreed process.”
She nodded.
“I will.”
The call ended.
For several seconds, our conference room was silent.
Then Maya looked toward me.