Vivien began to understand slowly and unpleasantly that owning a completed aircraft and being able to legally operate it were two very different things. Frustrated by the lack of options, Dorian brought in Everett Sloan, an attorney who specialized in corporate crisis response, hoping legal pressure could accomplish what money alone had failed to achieve. Together, they drafted a letter demanding that Rowan sign the completion documents within two hours, accusing him of unlawfully holding the aircraft hostage and threatening a lawsuit over damages tied to a stalled business deal. The letter further warned that Blackthorne would inform the entire industry that Hail Arrow Restoration could not be trusted to complete a contract professionally. Rowan forwarded the letter to his own attorney without a reply, then quietly sent back copies of the original contract, the email chain confirming every additional charge, and a written record of the meeting where Vivien had refused payment outright.
He stated clearly that he remained willing to complete final inspection procedures the moment Blackthorne fulfilled its own contractual obligations, nothing more and nothing less. The pressure only intensified when Vivien called Rowan directly, this time offering to pay 20% of the outstanding invoice if he would simply sign the paperwork immediately. When he declined, she raised the offer to 40%, adding a vague promise of future business between their companies. Rowan declined again, his voice steady, until Vivien shifted tactics entirely, and suggested that Avery might find it difficult to secure internship placements at any aviation company connected to Blackthorne's extensive business network. For the first time in the entire ordeal, Rowan's tone changed, though he still did not raise his voice.
He told Vivien plainly that she was not to mention his daughter again under any circumstances and that from that point forward every further communication between them would occur strictly in writing. Support for Rowan arrived from an unexpected direction the following day. When Mara circulated a short written statement among the flight crew explaining their position, the document confirmed that no pilot had been pressured or instructed by Rowan to refuse any flight and that each decision had been made independently based on professional judgment and a shared commitment to safety. It stated that the crew would resume operating the aircraft only once the legal and technical process had been properly completed. Without exception.
All 14 pilots on Blackthorne's active roster signed their names to the statement. A level of unified resistance Vivien had never once encountered in her years running the company. That same afternoon, an outside engineer Dorian had quietly consulted called Vivien with troubling news that went beyond the missing signature or the withheld payment. Without the original structural data set and Rowan's formal confirmation of the aircraft's new operating limitations, the Gulfstream would not simply sit grounded for a few extra days. It risked never being cleared to carry passengers again in any meaningful capacity.