"There's a difference between unusual and unlawful," she wrote. "The transactions are materially inconsistent with their supporting documentation. Further examination is warranted before assigning responsibility. Preserve the communications and do not release conclusions publicly."
Imani read the memo twice. She had bought businesses with more serious balance-sheet problems, and she had learned that fraud did not always begin with an elaborate plan. Sometimes it began with an executive finding an approval loophole, then discovering that nobody objected when he used it again. The more successful the company became, the easier it was to conceal the expense inside a larger number.
Helena Marsh visited Brooks Meridian on Wednesday afternoon. She was sixty, silver-haired, with a precise voice and the tired composure of a woman who had spent decades serving on boards that preferred a reassuring explanation to an uncomfortable investigation. She had supported the purchase because she believed new ownership would stabilize Sterling Vane's governance. She had recommended Preston as chief executive because he was the most visible candidate, not because she had investigated every complaint about his management.
Imani did not begin by showing her the lobby video. She began with the appointment invitation. "Who arranged my nine o'clock meeting Monday?" she asked. Helena frowned. "My office coordinated it with Preston's assistant last week. Was there a scheduling problem?"
"There was a forty-five-minute problem," Imani replied. Helena looked at Julian, then back at the woman who had just purchased her company. When Imani described the conversation, Helena's face slowly lost its professional neutrality. She had met Preston in boardrooms for years, but the version of him Imani described was not one he showed directors who could vote on his position.
"He knew the acquisition had closed," Helena said. "He knew a new owner was coming." Imani corrected her gently. "He knew an owner was coming. He didn't know I was that owner because he hadn't bothered to read the appointment. I'd like to know why a guest without a recognized title was treated as a nuisance in the first place."
Helena watched the lobby footage without interrupting. She leaned forward when Maya appeared with the water and remained still through the remarks about the service entrance. When it ended, she asked whether the employment dismissal had been confirmed. Julian showed her the termination record, redacted to protect the parts of Maya's personnel file not relevant to the matter.
"Good Lord," Helena said. Imani waited. Helena finally looked up. "I recommended that man because I thought he could run the company. I wasn't asking whether he understood the company he was running."
Imani opened the preliminary financial memo. "We have another reason to question his judgment, but the audit is ongoing. Nobody will make accusations until the records support them. In the meantime, I won't approve an appointment that hands him more authority over the evidence."
Helena agreed to postpone the executive vote until the full board had received a briefing. As chair, she arranged for an emergency audit-committee session and asked outside counsel to review any potential conflicts arising from Preston's related-party transactions. The directors who supported Preston were not pleased, and one complained that the new owner was allowing an awkward lobby encounter to interfere with an orderly succession. Helena answered that a director's obligation was to understand the evidence before rewarding an executive with greater power.