The judge leaned forward. "Mr. Bradley, you understand the seriousness of that statement?"
"Yes, Your Honor. My lawyer explained it to me. I want to correct the record."
Warren's lawyer requested a moment to consult his client, but the judge directed Silas to finish answering the questions properly put to him before any further argument. Silas described the pressure he had received, including warnings that he would be made responsible for years of questionable decisions if he refused to support Warren's account. He did not pretend he had been powerless; he acknowledged that he had chosen to sign. Rory asked him to identify the flash drive he had previously provided to independent counsel and explain the origin of the visitor profile it contained.
"I helped build it," he said. "Warren asked for a ranking system based partly on names, photographs, and background information. He wanted the guards to identify people he believed didn't fit the company's image. Later we connected those scores to vendor screening. I did not challenge him when I should have."
"Was the system designed to identify actual security threats through documented incidents?" Rory asked.
"Not in any reliable way. The fields were designed around categories Warren wanted excluded or delayed. We called it risk management because that sounded legitimate."
Warren rose suddenly, scraping his chair across the floor. "He's lying to save himself. He's been responsible for every number in this company for nine years, and now he's turning against me because a new owner promised him protection."
"Mr. Ashdown," Judge Halloran said, "sit down. If you interrupt the testimony again, I will have you removed from the courtroom."
Warren lowered himself into the chair, his face flushed and his hands clenched. Silas stared ahead, breathing carefully through the shame of what he had admitted. He had not saved himself by telling the truth; he had finally accepted that saving himself and telling the truth were no longer the same task. Whatever consequences followed, they would be based on an accurate account rather than another version Warren had written for him.
Eleanor Whitcomb testified briefly about the board appointment, its authorization, and Warren's attempt to intimidate directors after Daniel arrived. Her recording of the board sessions corroborated the threat to Therese and Warren's assertion that he had prepared the continuity protocol specifically to resist the ownership transition. She admitted that the board had neglected to examine earlier complaints, and she accepted her part in that failure. The admission was not required for her to explain the acquisition, but she offered it because she no longer wanted the truth broken into only the pieces that made her look responsible.
Rory finished with a narrow argument. The completed share acquisition was supported by transaction records independent of the lobby credential, the badge had been valid, and the principal affidavit supporting the emergency fraud allegation had been materially corrected by its own signatory. Whatever further investigations were appropriate into Summit's screening practices, the factual basis for freezing Daniel's rights had substantially fallen away. Keeping the order in force would preserve Warren's practical authority, not protect the company from demonstrated fraud by its new majority owner.