Rachel nodded. "Independent counsel will oversee the notice, quorum, conflict management, and required corporate approvals. The company can make an authorized statement and let the reporter observe the evidentiary session, subject to the confidentiality restrictions."
"Talia Brennan," Malik said.
"I've read her reporting," Rachel replied. "She's been more careful with facts than our own communications department."
A small smile flickered across Malik's face. "That's not a high bar right now."
Rachel almost smiled back. Then her expression became serious.
"Malik, I have something to say before we go any further."
He waited.
"When Preston sent me to discuss those reduced terms, I should have refused to carry them. I knew they were retaliatory. I worried about splitting the board and losing the financing, so I convinced myself presenting them was part of my job. It wasn't. It was a failure of judgment."
Malik considered her words.
"I appreciate you saying it. But what matters now is what you do when he pressures you again."
Rachel nodded. "This time I won't let him set the terms of the truth."
She sent the meeting notices that evening. Every director received a secure packet containing the independent counsel's summary, the real bank confirmation, the relevant witness accounts, the visitor records, and notice of the verified video review. Preston received the documents and an opportunity to respond. The evidentiary session would include company representatives and an authorized press observer. Personnel decisions would be made according to the governing documents, with the results announced afterward.
The room was not being turned into a courtroom. It remained a corporate board proceeding. But it would be recorded, supervised by independent counsel, and impossible for Preston to control simply by raising his voice.
Talia accepted the invitation to observe the session. Her editor asked her to be precise about which portions of the meeting were open and which statements required independent verification. She agreed. She was not there to cheer for Malik. She was there to report what the company did with the evidence.
Preston spent the night preparing his defense.
He called Richard Cole. Richard didn't answer. He sent Wallace Dunn a message suggesting the bank's clearance had come too quickly. Wallace replied that he'd read the actual documents and wanted independent counsel present. He contacted Diane and asked whether she'd reconsidered her statement. She told him to speak to her attorney.
For the first time, people who had once rearranged their schedules to take Preston's calls were telling him that he had to follow the same processes as everyone else.
He sat behind his desk long after midnight. Outside, Chicago glowed in the distance. In the framed photograph on his shelf, he stood beside the Yarrow Industries sign on the day he'd become CEO. He remembered the applause, the newspaper interviews, the promises he'd made to shareholders. He had spent twelve years believing the company's success was indistinguishable from his authority.
It had been an effective belief, right up until the moment someone refused to accept it.
He stared at the meeting notice and considered resigning quietly. His attorneys had explained that cooperation could limit further harm. But he still imagined walking into the room, speaking with enough force, and watching people fall back into their old habits.