Chapter 4

The emergency board meeting was held in the same room where Sarah had fired me. This time, however, the atmosphere was different. The air wasn' t just tense; it was electric with impending doom.

I wasn' t there. My brother, David, had insisted I stay away.

"Let me handle this," he' d said on the phone that morning. "It' s better if you' re not in the room. This is business now."

Sarah stood at the head of the table, flanked by a nervous-looking Mark. She had spent the last twenty-four hours trying to spin the narrative, telling the board that my departure was a planned transition and that the project was in capable hands.

David, whom they only knew as Mr. Chen from the investment firm, sat quietly at the other end of the table, his expression unreadable.

"As you can see from the revised projections," Sarah said, her voice a little too bright, "Mark' s new leadership is already streamlining our workflow. We predict a ten percent increase in efficiency by the end of the quarter."

It was a complete fabrication. David knew it. He let her finish her presentation, a ten-minute performance filled with corporate buzzwords and empty promises.

When she was done, a heavy silence fell over the room.

David finally spoke, his voice calm and measured, but carrying an unmistakable authority.

"That was a very compelling story, Ms. Spencer," he said, using her maiden name. A deliberate choice. "But it seems to be missing a key component."

Sarah forced a smile. "And what would that be, Mr. Chen?"

"The truth," David said simply. He slid a folder across the table. "This is the licensing agreement for the core algorithm that runs your entire Phoenix platform. The algorithm known as 'A-1,' created and patented by Alex Ryder."

The board members began to murmur, passing the folder around.

"As you can see," David continued, "the license was contingent on Mr. Ryder' s continued employment. As of 2:15 p.m. yesterday, when you terminated his contract, that license became null and void. Your platform, Ms. Spencer, is running on stolen technology."

Sarah' s face went white. "That' s... that' s a ridiculous accusation! Alex would never..."

"Wouldn' t he?" David interrupted. "You fired him. You publicly humiliated him. You demanded he turn over his life' s work to the man who sabotaged him. Why, exactly, would he continue to let you profit from his genius?"

The color drained from Sarah' s face. She looked at Mark, who suddenly seemed very small in his chair.

"This is a personal matter," she stammered. "A marital dispute. It has no bearing on the company."

"It has every bearing," David said, his voice turning to ice. "My firm invested forty million dollars based on the strength of that technology. Technology you no longer have the legal right to use. You have committed fraud. You misrepresented the company' s assets to your investors."

He stood up. "As the lead investor, I am calling for an immediate and independent audit of all company assets and intellectual property. And I am formally proposing a vote of no confidence in the current CEO."

Chaos erupted.

I got the whole story from David later that night, over a beer at a quiet bar. He told me Sarah had completely lost control. She started screaming, accusing David of conspiring with me, of trying to ruin her.

She turned on Mark, her voice dripping with venom. "You told me you could handle it! You told me you could crack his code!"

"I' m trying!" Mark squeaked. "It' s just... it' s more complex than I thought!"

In her rage, Sarah had stormed back to our-her-house. When I arrived the next day with a mover to get my boxes, the place was a wreck.

She had gone on a rampage. In the middle of the living room floor were the shattered remains of the crystal globe, our anniversary gift. She had thrown it against the wall. Shards of glass littered the expensive rug like fallen stars.

It was a clear message. Our world, the one we built, was shattered. And she was the one who had smashed it.

Mark was there, trying to clean up the mess. He looked pathetic.

"She' s not herself, Alex," he said, wringing his hands. "The pressure... it' s getting to her."

"She did this to herself," I said, directing the mover towards the garage.

As I was leaving, Sarah pulled up in her car, tires screeching. She got out and stalked towards me, her face a mask of fury.

"You!" she snarled. "You did this! You and your brother! You' re trying to destroy me!"

She lunged at me, her hands clawing for my face. I stepped back, and she stumbled, catching herself on the door of the moving truck.

"Get out!" she screamed, her voice raw. "Get your junk out of my house and get out of my life! I hope you rot!"

I didn' t say a word. I just got in my car and drove away. The image of the shattered globe was burned into my mind. It didn' t hurt anymore. It was just a fact. A symbol of an ending that was long overdue.

Later that evening, the company released a public statement. Sarah had been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. Mark was demoted. The IPO was officially postponed indefinitely.

I was sitting in my hotel room, looking at the job offer from Emily, when my phone rang. It was David.

"It' s done," he said. "Phase one, at least. How are you holding up?"

"I' m okay," I said, and for the first time, it felt true. "Better than okay, actually."

"Good," he said. "Because this is just the beginning. She' s not going to go down without a fight."

He was right. Sarah was a cornered animal now. And cornered animals are the most dangerous.