Chapter Five: The Creditor in Uniform

Lin stepped in front of the screen. “This came from a creditor's payment receipt, not the internal system. If you want to threaten a witness, repeat it before the judge.” Cape City Bank suspended Mountain & Sea from bidding and reported the payment to the court-appointed administrator. Gu retained the automatic stay, preventing immediate assignment, but Lin's consortium remained in the game. They had one night to turn “money owed to staff” into court-recognized claims. Twenty-seven people crowded into the staff room. Some had settlement texts; some had handwritten hours. Three dishwashers were paid in cash and had no wage statements. Cheng had deleted scheduling history.