Chapter 4

In the days that followed, Mark, true to his word, officially handed over the sales department to Chloe. He appeared on magazine covers, a broad smile on his face, talking about the "new, dynamic era" for ConnectCorp post-IPO.

He was the tech genius, the self-made billionaire. Chloe was the beautiful, savvy "First Lady of Tech" by his side.

They were a power couple. They were a lie.

I spent those first few days in a daze, holed up in the tiny, dilapidated apartment he had "gifted" me. The faint smell of mildew and the constant drip from the kitchen faucet were a stark reminder of how far I had fallen, and how far he had risen on my back.

I thought about the thousands of nights I had spent, hunched over a laptop, fueled by cheap coffee and a belief in our shared dream. I remembered debugging code at 3 a.m. while he slept soundly, and how I had personally negotiated the contracts with our first ten enterprise clients because he was too afraid of rejection. I had built the engine, and he had just painted the car and put himself in the driver's seat.

The anger began to burn away the pain.

My phone, a new burner I bought with the last of my cash, started ringing. It was a former colleague, a quiet database administrator who had resigned the day after I was fired.

"They're looking for you, Ava," he said. "They can't access the core database without your encryption keys. The whole system is running on cached data. It's going to start failing soon."

Then another call came. And another. Recruiters. Headhunters. CEOs of rival companies. News of my "departure" had spread like wildfire through the tight-knit tech community. They didn't know the whole story, but they knew one thing: the architect of Nexus was a free agent.

Offers poured in. Six-figure salaries, stock options, corner offices. It was a validation I desperately needed, a confirmation that my talent was real and valuable.

Then, an email landed in my inbox that made me sit up straight.

The sender was Daniel Lee, the CEO of InnovateTech, ConnectCorp's biggest and fiercest competitor. He wasn't just a businessman; he was a legendary programmer himself.

The subject line was simple: "Coffee?"

The email was short and to the point. He wrote that he had admired the architecture of Nexus for years and had always wondered who the ghost in the machine was. He proposed a partnership, not just a job.

A spark of hope ignited within me.

We agreed to meet at a high-end restaurant, the kind of place Mark loved to be seen in. As I was walking in, I saw them.

Mark and Chloe were at a large table near the front, entertaining a group of investors. They were laughing, holding court, the picture of success.

Chloe saw me first. Her eyes narrowed, and she whispered something to Mark.

He turned, and a look of pure contempt crossed his face. He stood up and strode over to me, blocking my path.

"What are you doing here, Ava?" he hissed, his voice low so the investors couldn't hear. "Are you stalking us? You need to move on. It's pathetic."

Chloe glided up behind him, her arm possessively linked through his.

"Look at you," she said, her eyes raking over my simple dress. "Still can't dress the part. Let me guess, you're here to beg for your old job back? I'm sorry, but our janitorial positions are all filled."

Before I could even respond, a calm, authoritative voice cut through the tension.

"Actually, she's with me."

Daniel Lee stood beside me. He was older than I expected, with a kind face but sharp, intelligent eyes. He looked at Mark and Chloe with an expression of mild distaste.

I looked at Mark, at the man who had torn my world apart, and for the first time, I didn't feel pain. I felt pity.

"You think this is over, Mark?" I said, my voice steady and clear. "You haven't even begun to understand what you've lost."