Saidi's office was on the second floor of a building facing the main road. On his desk lay the term sheet, a due-diligence checklist, and the new register. Amina arrived in a light jacket with the payment packet in a closed bag.
"I have forty minutes before the committee call," Saidi said. "You requested a seven-day hold."
"I requested it because the term sheet gives the new company control before members vote."
"The investor does not need a family quarrel. He needs a lawful representative."
Amina opened Hamisi's lease. "This is the original rental agreement. This is the landlord's register. The old company is named, and I signed. This is the new register, showing only Baraka."
Saidi compared the papers. "I received only the new copy."
"That copy has no meeting notice, original minutes, or resignation letter."
"Can you bring the originals?"
"They are under review. But I need the investor's signature to stop while the record is examined."
Saidi opened his checklist. "My committee has a deadline. Without money, the school may delay teacher salaries."
Amina placed the teachers' payment packet on the desk, covering every child's name. "Teachers were delayed because money was moved during the transition. The investor can help, but not by taking every board vote for a year."
Saidi did not take the packet. "Do not bring confidential information without a source."
"It is a summary written by the teachers and receipts verified at the agent. The sources are listed."
His adviser asked whether Amina wanted to stop the investment entirely.
"No. I want the investor to enter a school with readable membership, dual approval, and protection for teachers. You can invest without buying secret control."
Saidi opened the digital file. The final page of the term sheet, signed by Baraka and Mama Njeri, said: *founder has no continuing interest*. It was dated one day before the parents' notice.
Amina read it quietly. "This does not merely say I was removed. It says the investor was told I had already left before I knew."
Saidi looked at her. "If I pause, I lose the committee slot."
"You lose seven days, not the school. If you close today, you lose the chance to know whether you are buying membership or a changed paper."
Saidi walked to the window. "What conditions do you want?"
"A seven-day standstill. No transfer of shares, no defective proxies, and no child information. We provide the originals, library minutes, Hamisi's lease, and payment trail. Then lawful members decide the roles."
"And the debt?"
"It will be disclosed. The investor will not be forced to pay family debt without a repayment plan."
Saidi returned to the desk. "I can sign a hold, not a commitment."
"A dated hold with conditions."
His adviser drafted it. Saidi added that the investor would not contact suppliers or teachers directly during the review. Amina asked that all communications go through the temporary board. Saidi accepted.
Before signing, he asked, "You know an investor does not buy a lie?"
"Yes. That is why I do not want to sell one in the school's name."
Saidi handed her a copy. "I want the originals within seven days. If you fail, the committee reopens the term sheet."
Amina closed her bag. "If you find a resignation letter, I will accept it. Until then, do not use my old name as if it were settled history."
Saidi reopened the final page. The line was clear: *founder has no continuing interest; investor receives board control for twelve months.*
The room seemed smaller. The seven days were not only for proving Amina's name. They were for preventing the school from being sold through votes that had never been cast.
The investor's pause gave the school seven days in which truth could matter before money changed control. Saidi entered the deadline on the checklist, separating the hold from any commitment. # End of Chapter
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