9:00 a.m. Our suite done, he said. By 9, the suite looked like a war room. Mattie at the main desk, Olivia on the large screen via video call, Kimberly seated across the coffee table with her laptop open, and Lenora's attorney, a compact silver-haired woman named Judith Crane, joining by secure video from her downtown office. Elena stood at the head of the room, no chair.
She always thought better on her feet. She laid out the four fronts without preamble. Front one is legal, she said. Judith, Lenora has authorized you to deliver the full board recording archive to the Illinois Attorney General's office this morning. I need that submission to include the complete corporate governance documentation establishing the recording's legality under the original HMG charter, chain of custody, authentication, everything.
She looked at the screen. The AG's office went cold because the chain got questioned. This time, there's no chain to question. These recordings come directly from the company's own governance structure delivered by the company's own stakeholder attorney. They can't touch it.
Judith nodded once. I can be at the AG's office by 11. Front two is media. Elena said turning to Kimberly. You get everything.
The development maps, the shell company records, the offshore intermediary flag, board recording transcripts from three key sessions. I'll identify which ones after I've reviewed the Garrett material Lenora flagged, she paused. The piece runs at the end of the 96-hour window. Not before. Judith needs the AG submission to land and be processed before this goes public.
Kimberly was already typing. 96 hours, she said. I can work with that. Front three is the community. Elena continued.
Reverend Odinwald has been organizing for 9 days. The town hall happens in 96 hours. Same night the piece publishes. The residents hear it from me directly in person before they read it anywhere else. She said this carefully because it mattered.
These are people who have been lied to by officials with clipboards and friendly smiles. They deserve to hear the truth from someone standing in front of them, not from a news article. Mattie wrote something down. I'll coordinate with the Reverend on logistics. Front four is the board, Elena said.
She looked at Judith's screen. Lenora's attorney will brief Emily Vander today. Not the full recording archive. That goes to the AG first. But enough.
Emily needs to know what's in those sessions, and she needs time to quietly canvas the board before the article publishes. Elena paused. When Kimberly's piece drops, Emily calls the emergency session. The timing matters. The public and the board need to be moving simultaneously.