Chapter 135: Twelve Percent
Nathan had been promised twelve percent of the management pool.
Not twelve percent of Sterling Biotech.
The distinction appeared in the first line of the committee's finding and in every chart that followed.
The management pool itself represented a limited transaction incentive reserved for senior leaders. Nathan's portion would still have been worth far more than ordinary legal compensation if Northstar closed, but it did not make him a twelve-percent owner of the company.
It also had not vested.
Conrad and Celeste had to confirm completion, service, and disclosure conditions before any award became due.
"So they could cancel it whenever they wanted," Nathan said.
His lawyer corrected him. "They could decline confirmation under the stated conditions. Cancellation rights remain subject to the agreement and law."
Precision did not become less important because Nathan was finally frightened by the terms.
The financial examiner showed the committee three scenarios. In each, the award exceeded several years of Nathan's base salary. The exact value changed with the transaction, the pool, and Northstar's final structure.
The committee did not choose a projected number.
It found only that the incentive was substantial.
The public summary, if one became necessary, would say the same. No headline could honestly turn a contingent portion of a limited pool into twelve percent of Sterling's total shares.
"Did the promise affect your Northstar certification?" the chair asked.
Nathan looked at Celeste.
"I told myself it did not."
"That is not an answer about what happened."
"I wanted the transaction to close."
"Because of the company?"
"Because of the company, my position, and the award."
"Did anyone promise you the award if you withheld a specific record?" the chair asked.
"Not in those words."
"Do you have a document showing such a direction?"
"Not in this submission."
The admission entered the protected record.
It did not prove he removed report seven.
It did not prove he knew Celeste would submit the share letter against him.
It proved the personal benefit belonged inside his decision.
Celeste's counsel argued that Nathan had now established himself as the sole corrupt actor in the rights warranty.
"He established motive," the chair said. "Responsibility remains document-specific."
Celeste left during the next recess.
Nathan watched the door close.
They remained engaged. She remained restricted CEO. He remained CLO. Physical distance in one hearing did not change any status the record had not changed.
"She is going to put all of it on me," he said.
His lawyer asked that the statement remain off the record unless he chose to formalize it.
He did.
"What is all of it?" independent counsel asked.
"The old incident. The attribution warranty. The transaction disclosures."
"Do you deny responsibility for your own actions?"
"No."
"Do you have facts showing hers?"
Nathan stopped.
"Not ready today."
"Then the committee will not infer them for you," independent counsel said.
The answer was not cooperation. It was awareness.
For years, Celeste had presented him as the man who chose her. The share promise made the choice measurable. Now the same document offered her a story in which his greed explained every corporate decision around him.
That story was no more accurate than his old claim that duty explained everything.
The committee needed acts, not a single villain.
It also needed to preserve Nathan's responsibility if Celeste later used him as a shield. Being selected as a scapegoat would not make his signatures less his.
Late that afternoon, an external auditor answered the missing-page request. Its archive contained a scanned copy of report seven, preserved as part of an old financing review.
The committee ordered authentication before anyone read the contents.
The auditor provided a file hash, storage index, and cover receipt. Its scan would be compared with the missing sequence before the page entered evidence.
Nathan stared at the notice.
Twelve percent of a management pool had shown what he hoped to gain.
The recovered page would show what he had been willing to do.