Chapter 4 - The Deadline That Wasn't Real

At 7:42, Preston called. I let it ring. He called again. Naomi glanced at the screen.

"You should answer."

"No."

"What if the deal actually matters?"

"It does."

"Then answer it."

I looked at her. "For thirty years, I've answered the deal first. Every single time."

She didn't say anything else. I turned the phone off — the first time in an active acquisition I had ever done that.

We landed in Chicago at 8:11. My connection to Milwaukee had already been delayed by weather, and the lounge was chaos — canceled flights, families sleeping across chairs, kids in Christmas pajamas curled up on their parents' laps.

Normally my assistant would have gotten a plane rerouted just for me. I no longer trusted the chain of communication enough to ask. So I called someone Preston didn't control — my general counsel, Priya Shah.

She picked up on the second ring. "Merry Christmas, Julian."

"Priya, I need you to preserve every internal communication between Preston Kane, Naomi Ellison, Ellison Diagnostics, Beacon, and my personal correspondence for the last four years."

A pause. "Say that again."

I did.

"Is this a litigation hold?"

"A preservation order pending review."

"Does Preston know?"

"No."

"Should he?"

"No."

She didn't ask why. That's exactly why I trusted her.

"I also need someone to confirm the real Ellison board deadline directly with their chair," I said.

"Preston's been handling that."

"I know."

"I'll call."

I bought the kids airport grilled cheese, apple slices, milk. Milo refused the apples. Nora ate mine too. I watched them with a grief I didn't have a name for.

At 8:36, Priya called back. "Julian. The Ellison board isn't meeting at 11:45 tonight."

I stood up. "What?"

"They adjourned at four."

My blood went cold. "Why?"

"Vance— sorry, Cole Dynamics asked them to hold final consideration until after Christmas."

"Who asked?"

"Preston."

I looked over at Naomi, wiping Nora's hands with a napkin. "When's the real deadline?"

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"December twenty-seventh."

Three days. Preston had lied about midnight.