But because Daniel had finally stopped asking grief to be the only thing that connected him to his brother.
The independent review committee received the original tournament schedule on Thursday morning.
By noon, Helen Brooks had placed it beside the technical logs, Martin Vale's statement, and the preliminary findings from the video examination.
The documents did not establish a complete account of what happened. But they revealed several contradictions.
Michael's opponent had been changed after the original schedule was prepared. The replacement had been approved through an administrative process that was not fully documented. The timing display had been manually reset during the bout. And the official footage appeared to omit part of the disputed sequence.
Helen arranged a meeting with the former broadcasting contractor.
His name was Peter Lang, and he had spent most of his career recording regional sporting events. He was retired now, living in a small apartment overlooking a public park, and he had initially resisted the committee's request to meet.
When Helen explained that the inquiry concerned a potential discrepancy in the archived footage, he agreed to cooperate.
Daniel attended the meeting with Sarah.
"I need you to understand something before we begin," he said. "I didn't edit the footage myself."
"Who did?"
"The event's post-production team. My company supplied the cameras and recorded the original feeds. The organizers handled the final broadcast package."
"Did you retain the original files?"
"Some of them."
"The main broadcast was assembled from multiple camera angles. Normally, the editor would use the referee camera, the wide shot, and the audience camera to create a continuous sequence. But there was also a backup feed from the officials' entrance."
"Does it show the clock?"
"Part of it."
The image was grainy and slightly washed out. It showed the cage from an elevated angle, with the referee moving between the fighters. The digital display was visible in the upper corner.
Michael moved backward.
Brent Haskins pressed forward.
The referee stepped closer.
Daniel felt his hands tighten around the edge of the table.
"Stop."
For several seconds, Daniel stared at the frozen image.
"Go back five seconds."
This time, Daniel watched the referee.
The official had raised one arm and moved toward the fighters. His body language was unmistakable: he was attempting to interrupt the exchange.
The camera feed showed another brief interruption, followed by the referee stepping between them.
"That's where the official broadcast cuts to another angle."
Helen looked at him.
"Was the original recording continuous?"
"Yes."
"Who created the edited version?"
"The post-production team received instructions from the event operations office."
"Do you have those instructions?"
"I found an email chain in an archived account. It was part of a routine backup. I didn't realize its significance until I reviewed the request from your committee."
One email instructed the editing team to shorten the disputed sequence and use a camera angle that did not clearly show the timing display.
The stated reason was to improve the broadcast's pacing and avoid confusion caused by the clock malfunction.
Daniel read the message twice.
"The clock didn't malfunction," he said.
"That appears to be correct."
"Who sent the instruction?"
Helen asked whether the editing team had received any further direction.
Use the approved sequence for all official copies. Delete the temporary exports after delivery.
The message had been sent from an operations account associated with the tournament.
It did not identify who had approved the instruction.
Daniel looked at Helen.
"Does this prove Victor altered the footage?"
"It proves an account associated with the operations office instructed the editors to use a shortened sequence and delete temporary exports," Helen replied. "We still need to establish who authored the instruction and whether the changes were intended to conceal the incident."
Daniel looked back at the screen.
He could see the pattern forming, but he refused to let his anger finish the investigation before the evidence did.
"What happens now?" he asked.
"We'll compare the recovered footage with the timing logs and the official report. We'll also request the original communications from the parties involved."
"There is one more thing."
Helen looked up.
"After the final broadcast was delivered, I received a phone call from Paul Danner. He asked whether we retained any unedited footage of Michael's fight."
"Why?"
"He said the organizers wanted to ensure that all copies were consistent."
Daniel felt a cold anger settle in his chest.
"Did you tell him you had the backup?"
"I told him the standard retention period had expired."
"Was that true?"
"No. I had kept the file because I suspected the official version was incomplete."
"Why didn't you report it?"