Chapter Five: The Creditor in Uniform

By four, paper covered the walls. Each theft was a few dollars, sometimes dozens. Together: $386,000. “I always thought one missing check wasn't worth fighting,” Ajay said. “They survived because each of us kept deciding to let one go.” At nine, the first creditor briefing convened in Lanterns' banquet hall. Gu's lawyers blamed “market disruption” and proposed closing Lanterns, dismissing staff, and licensing its brand to Mountain & Sea in exchange for rescue financing. Cheng distributed settlements: $2,000 that day in exchange for waiving all service charges and objections. Some employees wavered. Two thousand was real. Lin's acquisition was still paper promises.