“Marcus saw every change,” she said.
“Yes.”
“He marked some of them himself.”
“Yes.”
“And never warned you.”
“No.”
Everly picked up a handwritten note from the briefcase.
Marcus had scribbled a reminder to keep the liability language away from the summary memo prepared for Aaron.
That was no oversight.
Everly set it down.
“He knew.”
Aaron’s face became completely still.
The stillness frightened her more than anger would have.
“What happens to him?” she asked.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“On whether he was greedy or bought.”
Everly looked at the papers.
“There’s a difference?”
“To me.”
She did not ask why.
Instead she began checking the numbers attached to the hidden liabilities.
The four hundred million dollars was not a single debt.
It was an accumulation of obligations tied to the holding company: unresolved tax exposure, old judgments, loans secured through related entities, penalties, and guarantees.
Some could be challenged.
Some could not.
But the contract was designed to force Aaron to inherit the fight first and ask questions later.
Everly found something else shortly after midnight.
The purchase price had been calculated as though the routes were clean assets.
No discount had been applied for the liabilities Marcus supposedly believed were ordinary.
She showed Aaron.
“If he truly thought you were assuming these debts, he would have demanded a lower price.”
Aaron nodded.
“So his own negotiation position proves he was pretending they weren’t there.”
“Yes.”
“He needed me to sign before I understood what I was buying.”
“Yes.”
Aaron looked toward the dark windows.
“Then he was bought.”
Everly folded her arms.
“You still don’t know that.”
His eyes moved back to her.
“Most people in this city spend a great deal of energy agreeing with me.”
“Then most people are useless to you.”
The corner of his mouth moved.
“Apparently.”
The next morning Marcus called.
Not Aaron.
Everly.
She nearly ignored the unknown number.
When she answered, his voice came low and furious.
“You have no idea what you stepped into.”
Everly stood beside the same contract she had interrupted two nights earlier.
“I know what subsection B does.”
Marcus breathed hard.
“You think Cross is protecting you?”
