Chapter 4 - VICTOR'S SIGNATURE WAS ON THE REPORT
Victor had never met Grant Holloway.
That did not make him innocent.
Romano Capital invested through managers.
Managers hired servicers.
Servicers hired contractors.
Layers.
All legal.
All efficient.
And very useful when nobody wanted to see what happened at the bottom.
Daniel brought Victor the quarterly portfolio report.
Page eighty-seven.
Vendor oversight.
Briar Recovery Services:
Approved field recovery contractor.
Compliance incidents:
Low.
Consumer complaints:
Within tolerance.
Victor stared at his own signature on the final page.
He had signed the report.
Not because he read every vendor name.
Because executives sign systems.
That excuse sounded pathetic when Emily’s bicycle was leaning against his office wall.
He called the fund manager, Thomas Keene.
“Why is Briar approved?”
Thomas hesitated.
“They hit recovery targets.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
“They’ve been aggressive.”
“Illegal?”
“I wouldn’t characterize it that way.”
Victor’s voice hardened.
“Then characterize taking a widow’s wedding ring on a truck loan.”
Silence.
Thomas said:
“I’ll look into it.”
“No.”
Victor looked at Mara.
“We already are.”
He suspended Briar from all Romano-linked portfolios pending investigation.
Thomas objected.
“That will hurt recoveries.”
Victor answered:
“Good.”
Then he commissioned an external audit.
Not internal.
May you like
Independent.
Because if his own company had missed this, his own company did not get to grade itself.
