There were employees, suppliers, clients, and other lenders to consider.

Vanguard did not consist solely of the three people whose behavior had brought us together.

I thought of the reception desk.

I thought of the names reacting to my message at three in the morning.

Some would have spouses, mortgages, medical bills, and a thousand reasons not to want their employer turned into the scenery for my divorce.

I asked what plan offered the best chance of preserving viable operations without concealing the problems.

The answer was not simple.