I had a hunch. Maverick must have planned this for a while—crafting a convoluted excuse to ask me for money, timing it just right with the deal he struck with Halo Group. He probably thought he'd wait for the perfect moment to bring it up. Too bad for him, I tore through his plans before he could enact them.

So that’s it. He’s been scheming to make me willingly hand over fifteen million dollars, cloaked in the guise of a business venture.

A business venture? ...