Eventually, the chairman agreed to be evaluated.
An emergency response team arrived.
Naomi watched from the doorway as the billionaire was escorted toward the elevator.
He looked exhausted.
For a moment, he stopped beside her.
She expected another insult.
Instead, he studied her face.
Then asked quietly.
"Did you really see him put something in the bowl?"
Naomi nodded.
"Yes, sir."
His eyes moved toward the nephew, who was speaking rapidly to the general counsel.
For several seconds, the chairman said nothing.
Then he looked back at Naomi.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
She swallowed.
"I tried."
He stared.
Then seemed to remember the moment immediately before the bowl broke.
Her warning.
His refusal to stop.
And the way she'd moved when he raised the matcha toward his lips.
For the first time, the billionaire appeared uncertain about his own conduct.
Then the elevator doors opened.
He stepped inside.
And disappeared.
Naomi was interviewed for almost two hours.
She described the sequence repeatedly.
Where she stood.
What she saw.
Which hand moved.
And how the chairman was holding the bowl when she intervened.
The investigators asked whether she had any reason to dislike the nephew.
She answered that she'd never met him before that evening.
They asked whether she was angry after the chairman mocked her.
She admitted that she was hurt and embarrassed.
Then she explained that those feelings had nothing to do with the sudden movement she'd observed over the matcha.
The distinction mattered.
She could feel humiliated by a customer and still have witnessed something real.
She could regret breaking an antique bowl and still believe intervening was necessary.
And the fact that her conduct looked shocking didn't establish that her explanation was false.
Daniel listened carefully.
He requested that available surveillance records and access logs be preserved.
The private dining room didn't have ordinary continuous video surveillance inside the space because clients paid for privacy.
But cameras covered the adjoining corridor, service entrance, and preparation area.
Those recordings could establish who moved through the relevant spaces and when.
The tea master and serving staff could also provide statements about the handling of the utensils and ingredients.
The broken bowl, spilled tea, and unidentified vial were documented for examination.
Naomi signed her statement.
Then sat quietly while the investigators continued their work.
She felt exhausted.
Her uniform was still stained with a few drops of matcha.
The ivory sash had loosened.
And one of her hands had developed a small scrape when the bowl shattered.
For a moment, she wondered whether she'd just destroyed her career.
The nephew's account changed twice that night.
At first, he insisted the vial wasn't his.
Then he acknowledged that it might have fallen from his jacket but claimed he didn't know how it got there.