Chapter 10 - THE GUARANTEE JOSHUA FORGOT
Joshua laughed.
“No.”
Nicholas handed him an old loan packet.
Three years earlier, when Rivas Rewind leased its first production studio, Joshua had signed as a limited guarantor.
He remembered signing something.
Not this.
Caleb had asked for help securing equipment financing.
Joshua believed his exposure was capped at twenty-five thousand dollars.
It was.
The guarantee had not secretly grown.
No trick.
No forged amendment.
Joshua’s maximum exposure remained twenty-five thousand.
Still, he had forgotten.
Why?
Because the company had felt like Caleb’s hobby then.
Joshua had treated the documents casually.
Again, he was not outside the family pattern.
He had used:
trust
as a substitute for:
attention.
The current balance tied to his guarantee was under twelve thousand.
Not catastrophic.
But real.
Nicholas said:
“That’s why I thought you understood what was at stake.”
Joshua stared.
“You thought because I once guaranteed equipment, I agreed to humiliate Lily to save the company?”
Nicholas flinched.
“No.”
“Then don’t connect them.”
Fair.
Joshua called the lender directly.
They confirmed:
his guarantee cap,
current exposure,
no hidden amendments.
That clarity helped.
Then he called Sunridge.
Dana explained the company was not demanding Rivas Rewind shut down.
They wanted a compliance reset before reconsidering the campaign.
Requirements included:
fresh participant releases,
minor assent procedures,
separate reserve accounting,
no undisclosed prank content,
and an independent production supervisor for shoots involving children.
Caleb hated the last condition.
“It makes us look dangerous.”
Dana answered:
“It makes you look governed.”
That line reached Joshua through Caleb later.
He liked it.
Then Priya completed the reserve review.
The total minor reserve liability was sixty-seven thousand dollars.
Rivas Rewind had enough assets to fund it.
Barely.
If they moved cash into segregated accounts immediately, the company would need:
a smaller staff,
studio downsizing,
and reduced owner distributions.
Nicholas asked:
“Do we have to do it all now?”
Priya answered:
“If you want the policy to mean what you told sponsors it means.”
Caleb chose credibility.
He ordered the accounts opened.
Then one employee came forward.
Mason Reed.
Senior editor.
He said:
“If you are fixing consent, you need to know the archive problem.”
Joshua frowned.
“What archive problem?”
Mason opened a storage report.
Rivas Rewind kept almost every raw clip ever shot.
Including deleted footage.
Including children crying.
Including footage recorded after parents believed cameras were off.
Joshua stared.
“How much?”
Mason answered:
“Thirty-eight terabytes.”
May you like
Then he added:
“And copies exist outside the company server.”
