{"id":10054,"date":"2026-09-13T11:57:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T11:57:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=10054"},"modified":"2026-09-13T11:57:33","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T11:57:33","slug":"part-8-a-board-members-connection-to-northstar-revealed-the-takeover-plan-but-ethan-discovered-the-sabotage-had-a-second-target-hidden-inside-meridians-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=10054","title":{"rendered":"PART 8 \u2013 A Board Member\u2019s Connection to Northstar Revealed the Takeover Plan, but Ethan Discovered the Sabotage Had a Second Target Hidden Inside Meridian\u2019s Contract"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Victor Shaw had been on Horizon&#39;s board for nine years.<\/p>\n<p>That was the first thing Eleanor told us.<\/p>\n<p>Not because the length of service proved anything.<\/p>\n<p>Because betrayal changes shape when it comes from someone who has sat beside you for nearly a decade.<\/p>\n<p>Victor chaired the finance committee.<\/p>\n<p>He reviewed debt.<\/p>\n<p>Banking relationships.<\/p>\n<p>Capital expenditures.<\/p>\n<p>Acquisition proposals.<\/p>\n<p>He had also led the board&#39;s evaluation when Northstar Capital offered to buy Horizon eleven months earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor had rejected the offer.<\/p>\n<p>Victor had recommended continuing negotiations.<\/p>\n<p>Now a photograph placed him beside Northstar&#39;s managing partner and Horizon&#39;s missing procurement director the evening after Bay Three had been sabotaged.<\/p>\n<p>Dana stared at the traffic-camera image.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen did you last speak with Victor?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYesterday afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat time?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApproximately three.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe machine failure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That mattered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you tell him?\u201d Dana asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnly that Bay Three had suffered a shutdown and Meridian&#39;s visit might be affected.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you mention sabotage?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you mention Ethan&#39;s consulting fee?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked toward Eleanor.<\/p>\n<p>She understood immediately.<\/p>\n<p>Victor knew about the six hundred thousand dollars before Martin edited the forged confession at the hotel.<\/p>\n<p>The information didn&#39;t necessarily come from Martin watching internal communications.<\/p>\n<p>It could have come from Victor.<\/p>\n<p>Dana wrote something.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Victor ask unusual questions?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor thought carefully.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe asked whether Meridian had been notified.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe asked whether the qualification would be postponed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat I didn&#39;t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he ask about financing?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dana nodded slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen he knew enough to understand the plan was in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I leaned against the small quality-office counter.<\/p>\n<p>The qualification machine ran in the next room.<\/p>\n<p>Its spindle noise came faintly through the wall.<\/p>\n<p>For months I had treated Bay Three as an engineering system.<\/p>\n<p>Axes.<\/p>\n<p>Feedback loops.<\/p>\n<p>Thermal drift.<\/p>\n<p>Tool geometry.<\/p>\n<p>Now it had become the center of a financial attack.<\/p>\n<p>Claire asked, \u201cWhat exactly would Northstar gain if Meridian canceled?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHorizon has a revolving credit facility tied to revenue stability and customer concentration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I understood the general concept.<\/p>\n<p>Not the details.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMeaning?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Meridian became a major customer and then terminated during qualification for supplier failure, our risk profile would change sharply.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dana looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWould the bank call the loan?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot automatically.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe would have to renegotiate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnder pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Northstar could offer emergency capital.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt unfavorable terms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire sat slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey couldn&#39;t force a sale.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut they could make one look necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I thought of Daniel Ross&#39;s financial models.<\/p>\n<p>Seven revisions.<\/p>\n<p>Each version calculated what happened if Horizon failed Meridian.<\/p>\n<p>Not because Richard wanted to know whether the company could survive.<\/p>\n<p>Because someone wanted to know exactly how badly it had to stumble.<\/p>\n<p>Dana&#39;s phone rang again.<\/p>\n<p>This time she left the room to answer.<\/p>\n<p>I turned toward Eleanor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou rejected Northstar because of price?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She shook her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause of intent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat intent?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey wanted the company broken into divisions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That explained something.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHorizon would stop existing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEffectively.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked through the window toward production.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father mortgaged our house when I started this place. We had six machines and twelve employees.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I had heard parts of that history.<\/p>\n<p>Not from Eleanor.<\/p>\n<p>From Walter.<\/p>\n<p>She continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNorthstar saw real estate, contracts, aerospace certifications, and equipment. I saw people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her voice remained controlled.<\/p>\n<p>She wasn&#39;t trying to inspire anyone.<\/p>\n<p>She was stating a difference in valuation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Victor?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe thought I was sentimental.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas he wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That answer stayed with me.<\/p>\n<p>Sentiment wasn&#39;t always weakness.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes it was simply the name finance people gave values that didn&#39;t fit neatly into a spreadsheet.<\/p>\n<p>Dana returned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have another problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nobody asked whether it was serious.<\/p>\n<p>Everything was serious now.<\/p>\n<p>She held up her phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMeridian&#39;s attorney contacted me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout what?\u201d Eleanor asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA contract provision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Susan Hale and Meridian&#39;s legal counsel joined us ten minutes later.<\/p>\n<p>We moved back upstairs.<\/p>\n<p>Greg and Luis remained with the technical team.<\/p>\n<p>Susan looked uncomfortable.<\/p>\n<p>That worried me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEleanor,\u201d she began, \u201cwhile engineering continues qualification, our legal group reviewed the circumstances you disclosed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI expected that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is a clause in the master supply agreement concerning intentional acts by supplier personnel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know the provision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo do we.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Meridian attorney opened a binder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf an employee or authorized agent intentionally interferes with production equipment used for Meridian components, we may classify the incident as a supplier-integrity breach.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire asked, \u201cEven if no Meridian parts were affected?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Susan added, \u201cNormally, we would evaluate remediation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNormally?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>She looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe contract contains an automatic termination option under certain conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That sounded wrong.<\/p>\n<p>I had seen technical sections of Meridian&#39;s requirements.<\/p>\n<p>Not the commercial agreement.<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor asked, \u201cWhat conditions?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The attorney turned several pages.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the interference can reasonably be interpreted as an attempt to misrepresent process capability to Meridian.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I understood immediately.<\/p>\n<p>Richard&#39;s plan had been to create a machine failure.<\/p>\n<p>But if Meridian interpreted the sabotage as Horizon manipulating qualification results, the consequences were worse.<\/p>\n<p>Much worse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat would be termination for cause,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>The attorney looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The exact scenario in Northstar&#39;s financial model.<\/p>\n<p>Not accidental loss.<\/p>\n<p>Not delayed production.<\/p>\n<p>Termination for cause.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Eleanor.<\/p>\n<p>She saw it too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis clause,\u201d she said slowly, \u201cwhen was it added?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Susan looked toward her attorney.<\/p>\n<p>He checked the document history.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFinal revision. Approximately two months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho negotiated it for Horizon?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire already knew.<\/p>\n<p>Her face tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStrategic Procurement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin Vale.<\/p>\n<p>Dana leaned forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSpecifically?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire opened the contract-management system.<\/p>\n<p>It took less than thirty seconds.<\/p>\n<p>There it was.<\/p>\n<p>Revision approval.<\/p>\n<p>M. Vale.<\/p>\n<p>But another name appeared in the comment history.<\/p>\n<p>V. Shaw.<\/p>\n<p>Victor.<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoard members don&#39;t normally edit customer contract language.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo,\u201d Claire said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey don&#39;t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dana&#39;s voice became very controlled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShow me the comment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire enlarged it.<\/p>\n<p>Victor had written:<\/p>\n<p>Supplier integrity protection should remain broad. Agree to Meridian language without narrowing.<\/p>\n<p>That single sentence mattered.<\/p>\n<p>Horizon could have negotiated the clause.<\/p>\n<p>Could have limited it.<\/p>\n<p>Could have required proof of intent directed toward Meridian.<\/p>\n<p>Victor had advised against narrowing it.<\/p>\n<p>Two months later, the sabotage occurred.<\/p>\n<p>I felt the pieces lock together.<\/p>\n<p>The machine failure wasn&#39;t merely supposed to embarrass Horizon.<\/p>\n<p>The contract had been prepared in advance so the exact kind of failure they planned could trigger the most damaging commercial consequence.<\/p>\n<p>Someone had engineered the legal conditions before engineering the machine failure.<\/p>\n<p>Susan Hale looked pale.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou believe someone inside Horizon accepted this provision deliberately?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dana answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe&#39;re investigating that possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meridian&#39;s attorney closed the binder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis puts us in a difficult position.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I understood.<\/p>\n<p>If Meridian ignored potential supplier misconduct, they created their own compliance problem.<\/p>\n<p>Susan looked at Eleanor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe may have to pause qualification.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The words struck harder than the machine alarm had.<\/p>\n<p>Everything we had repaired might still fail because of the contract.<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor remained composed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat would prevent suspension?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The attorney thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvidence that the interference was not intended to deceive Meridian.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have a recording indicating the purpose was internal restructuring.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dana said it carefully.<\/p>\n<p>The attorney looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat helps.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere&#39;s more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She explained the Northstar connection.<\/p>\n<p>The financial models.<\/p>\n<p>Cole Industrial.<\/p>\n<p>Victor.<\/p>\n<p>Martin.<\/p>\n<p>She did not speculate beyond the evidence.<\/p>\n<p>When she finished, Susan asked the crucial question.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the purpose was to cause Meridian to terminate Horizon, isn&#39;t Meridian still central to the scheme?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nobody answered immediately.<\/p>\n<p>Because she was right.<\/p>\n<p>We couldn&#39;t simply say Meridian wasn&#39;t the target.<\/p>\n<p>The saboteurs wanted Meridian&#39;s reaction.<\/p>\n<p>That still implicated the integrity clause.<\/p>\n<p>I stared at the contract.<\/p>\n<p>Something bothered me.<\/p>\n<p>The wording.<\/p>\n<p>Attempt to misrepresent process capability.<\/p>\n<p>I asked for the binder.<\/p>\n<p>The attorney slid it toward me.<\/p>\n<p>I read the full section.<\/p>\n<p>Then the surrounding sections.<\/p>\n<p>I wasn&#39;t a lawyer.<\/p>\n<p>But engineers learn to read specifications literally.<\/p>\n<p>Words define boundaries.<\/p>\n<p>One paragraph referenced intentional interference by supplier personnel.<\/p>\n<p>Another defined supplier personnel.<\/p>\n<p>I read it twice.<\/p>\n<p>Then a third time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDana.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked over.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho qualifies as supplier personnel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Meridian attorney answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEmployees, officers, agents, authorized contractors, representatives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoard members?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPotentially officers or representatives, depending on role.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOutside investors?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomeone acting against Horizon?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I pointed to the clause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis assumes the person interfering with production is acting on Horizon&#39;s behalf.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He read.<\/p>\n<p>I continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRichard wasn&#39;t trying to improve Horizon&#39;s qualification results. If the evidence is correct, he was trying to make Horizon fail.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dana&#39;s eyes sharpened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo the act was adverse to the supplier.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Susan leaned closer.<\/p>\n<p>The attorney read the definition again.<\/p>\n<p>Then he sat back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat may matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire asked, \u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPotentially a great deal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The clause didn&#39;t say any employee action automatically became Horizon&#39;s action.<\/p>\n<p>It treated people as supplier personnel when acting within actual or apparent authority related to contract performance.<\/p>\n<p>Sabotaging the company for personal gain could fall outside that authority.<\/p>\n<p>Dana asked, \u201cIf we establish that Richard, Martin, and Victor acted for undisclosed personal interests contrary to Horizon&#39;s interests, would the automatic termination provision still apply?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Meridian attorney didn&#39;t answer quickly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat would require review.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not no.<\/p>\n<p>Not yes.<\/p>\n<p>But review was better than suspension.<\/p>\n<p>Susan said, \u201cWe can pause the commercial decision while technical qualification continues.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor exhaled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon&#39;t thank me yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Susan turned to me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou caught that distinction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI read what was written.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The attorney smiled faintly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat&#39;s most of contract law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After Meridian returned downstairs, Dana asked me to stay.<\/p>\n<p>She pointed toward the contract.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis may be how we protect Horizon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom the clause?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom the automatic trigger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at the revision history again.<\/p>\n<p>Victor.<\/p>\n<p>Martin.<\/p>\n<p>Two months earlier.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat if they planned for that too?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dana frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Richard looked like he was acting as operations management, Meridian might assume the sabotage was Horizon&#39;s own misconduct.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut once his financial interest in Cole Industrial is revealed, he looks adverse to Horizon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo why create an ownership trail?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dana understood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe they didn&#39;t expect it to be found.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But something still bothered me.<\/p>\n<p>Richard was arrogant.<\/p>\n<p>Martin was careful.<\/p>\n<p>Victor had board-level financial knowledge.<\/p>\n<p>Nathan Calder ran a private equity firm.<\/p>\n<p>This scheme had multiple layers.<\/p>\n<p>Yet Cole Industrial&#39;s ownership was traceable through public filings.<\/p>\n<p>Sloppy.<\/p>\n<p>Unless Cole Industrial had been designed to be discovered.<\/p>\n<p>Dana became still.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou think Richard was supposed to take the blame.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The idea felt ugly.<\/p>\n<p>But plausible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire looked between us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo make the sabotage look like one executive&#39;s self-dealing scheme.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dana completed the thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile hiding the takeover.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Exactly.<\/p>\n<p>If Richard were exposed, investigators would find Cole Industrial.<\/p>\n<p>They would see greed.<\/p>\n<p>Outsourcing.<\/p>\n<p>A corrupt executive trying to profit from eliminating a department.<\/p>\n<p>That story was bad enough that most people might stop looking.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile Victor and Northstar remained outside the frame.<\/p>\n<p>Until Martin ran.<\/p>\n<p>Until Daniel called.<\/p>\n<p>Until the financial model appeared.<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor&#39;s phone rang.<\/p>\n<p>She answered.<\/p>\n<p>Listened.<\/p>\n<p>Then handed it to Dana.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#39;s security.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dana took the call.<\/p>\n<p>Her expression sharpened immediately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She listened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo not let anyone enter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCall law enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She ended the call.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d Claire asked.<\/p>\n<p>Dana looked at Eleanor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMartin&#39;s office was just broken into.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was taken?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSecurity doesn&#39;t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We moved quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Martin&#39;s office sat on the third floor near procurement.<\/p>\n<p>The electronic lock had been forced with an override credential.<\/p>\n<p>A desk drawer hung open.<\/p>\n<p>Papers covered the carpet.<\/p>\n<p>The computer was gone.<\/p>\n<p>Not the monitor.<\/p>\n<p>The entire encrypted workstation tower.<\/p>\n<p>Walter stood outside the doorway with security.<\/p>\n<p>He looked angry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCamera?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dana asked.<\/p>\n<p>Security shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHallway camera went offline twelve minutes before the door opened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOther entrances?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReviewing now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked around the office.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing seemed random.<\/p>\n<p>Whoever had entered knew what they wanted.<\/p>\n<p>Then I noticed a rectangular dust outline on the lower bookshelf.<\/p>\n<p>Something had been removed.<\/p>\n<p>I pointed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin&#39;s assistant, standing nearby, answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA blue binder.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat binder?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She swallowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Meridian negotiation file.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dana and I looked at each other.<\/p>\n<p>The electronic contract history already showed Victor and Martin.<\/p>\n<p>Why steal the paper file now?<\/p>\n<p>Unless the paper file contained something the electronic version didn&#39;t.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho knew it was there?\u201d Dana asked.<\/p>\n<p>The assistant looked frightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMartin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnyone else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor Shaw.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dana&#39;s phone vibrated.<\/p>\n<p>Another message.<\/p>\n<p>She opened it.<\/p>\n<p>Then handed the screen to Eleanor.<\/p>\n<p>A bank notification.<\/p>\n<p>Horizon had just received a formal notice requesting a special board meeting.<\/p>\n<p>Requested by three directors.<\/p>\n<p>Victor Shaw was one.<\/p>\n<p>The stated purpose:<\/p>\n<p>Evaluation of emergency strategic financing alternatives.<\/p>\n<p>Northstar&#39;s plan was no longer waiting for Meridian to terminate the contract.<\/p>\n<p>They were moving anyway.<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor read the notice twice.<\/p>\n<p>Then looked toward me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey think we&#39;re weak enough now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked through Martin&#39;s broken office toward the factory floor below.<\/p>\n<p>Bay Three was running.<\/p>\n<p>Meridian&#39;s technical qualification was still alive.<\/p>\n<p>The sabotage had failed.<\/p>\n<p>But the people behind it had already begun the next stage.<\/p>\n<p>And this time, the machine wasn&#39;t their target.<\/p>\n<p>Horizon itself was.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=10055\">Click here to continue reading: PART 9: Victor Called an Emergency Board Vote to Hand Northstar Control, Until a Missing Binder Revealed Why Horizon Had Only Hours Left<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Victor Shaw had been on Horizon&#39;s board for nine years. That was the first thing Eleanor told us. Not because the length of service proved anything. Because betrayal changes shape &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10054"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10074,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10054\/revisions\/10074"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}