Chapter 3

I found a major tech blog, one that every engineer and VC in the Valley read religiously. I spent the entire night writing. I didn't use emotion. I used facts.

I laid out the entire timeline, from the first line of code to the final algorithm. I attached screenshots of my private code commits, timestamped and verified. I included excerpts from my design documents, dated years before Leo had even started his internship.

I revealed that the project lead, Leo, was my fiancée' s intern, and that we had been engaged for five years. I posted it under my own name. I hit "publish" as the sun came up.

By noon, the post had exploded. The tech community was a hornet's nest. Hacker News, Reddit, Twitter-it was everywhere. The comments were a firestorm, split down the middle.

"This is classic credit-stealing. The commit logs don't lie."

"Sounds like a disgruntled employee who can't handle a talented intern outshining him."

"If his fiancée is the PM, this is a massive conflict of interest. Aether HR needs to investigate."

I felt a grim sense of satisfaction. Let them debate. The evidence was there for anyone who cared to look.

Chloe called me, her voice frantic.

"Ethan, what have you done? You're trying to ruin my career!"

"You did this, Chloe. You and Leo. I'm just telling the truth."

"You're making me the villain! I was just trying to help a kid get a start! That's the dream you and I always talked about, helping people!"

"My dream wasn't built on lies," I said and hung up on her.

An hour later, Aether's official corporate blog published a response. It was written by Chloe, cosigned by Marcus Vance. It was a masterpiece of corporate spin.

The post, titled "On Collaboration and Innovation at Aether," painted a picture of a harmonious team effort. It praised the "prodigy" Leo for his "fresh perspective and leadership." It described me as a "valued but non-collaborative" employee who struggled to work within the team framework.

It didn't refute my evidence. It just ignored it, drowning it in a flood of polished, empty corporate praise for the "team."

My phone buzzed again. It was a text from Chloe.

"It's over, Ethan. You lost. The company is backing me. You should have just endorsed him."

I stared at the text, then at the dueling blog posts. This wasn't just about my project anymore. It was about my word against hers.

I filed a formal, detailed complaint with HR, attaching every piece of evidence I had. I cited the company's code of conduct and ethics policies. I requested a formal investigation.

An automated reply landed in my inbox: "Your ticket has been received. We will review your case and respond within 5-7 business days."

A few minutes later, an email from Marcus Vance's assistant appeared.

"Marcus Vance requests your presence in his office immediately."

The dread was cold and heavy in my gut. This was it.