Chapter 3

Late that night, I pretended to be asleep, listening to Claire's breathing beside me.

Once, that sound brought me absolute peace. Now, it sent chills down my spine.

At 3:00 AM, she slipped out of bed, holding her phone, and walked out onto the balcony.

"...Relax, he has no idea. The fourth rebuild is set to fail..."

"The moment we extract his new architectural blueprints, file for the patent immediately..."

"As long as you behave, I’ll take care of you. But don't you dare get any stupid ideas about replacing him in my heart..."

Her voice drifted in pieces through the glass door, but it was enough.

When she crawled back into bed, I shifted, casually draping an arm over her waist.

Her body stiffened for a second, then relaxed as she gently held my hand.

The next morning, Claire went out of her way to make a gourmet breakfast.

"Babe, the engineers arrive at nine. Want to review the proposal first?"

I took the tablet and skimmed the so-called "Fourth Rebuild Architecture."

Riddled with deliberate backdoors, far more subtle than the previous three attempts.

"Looks good," I nodded. "Let Lucas lead the deployment."

Claire blinked, stunned. "Why? This is your life's work..."

"I trust your judgment." I looked straight into her eyes. "You said he has potential. Let's give him his shot."

Her gaze shifted nervously, a mix of greed and unease.

In the boardroom, Lucas was riding high, presenting the slides with theatrical confidence.

I sat back quietly, tossing out a few trivial comments.

"Any high-level insights, Ethan?" he asked near the end, his smirk dripping with condescension.

The room went dead silent. Everyone knew this platform was my decade-long masterpiece, and now a junior associate was talking down to me.

I simply nodded. "Fresh perspective. Run with it."

The team exchanged puzzled glances. Even Lucas looked thrown off.

Only Claire sighed in relief, gently squeezing my knee under the table.

Whenever I was overwhelmed with stress, she used to comfort me like that.

Now, it made my stomach churn.

After the meeting, I left early, claiming I needed fresh air.

Evelyn's sleek black sedan pulled up right on time at the corner.

"Mind made up?" She offered me a stick of gum. "We tracked down the hacker. Do we strike now, or wait until they file the patent?"

"Wait for the filing," I said coldly. "I want them to choke on their own greed."

Evelyn nodded, then handed me a flash drive. "Everything you need is in here."

I looked at her, confused.

"The backup you left with me two years ago," she smiled faintly. "It's an older build, but it's pure."

"You told me it was the most precious thing you owned. You were terrified you'd lose it, so you insisted on leaving a copy in my vault."

A memory flashed back. Two years ago, after a massive fight with Claire, I had shown up at Evelyn’s place, reeking of bourbon.

"Keep this safe for me," I had muttered. "If I ever let love blind me into destroying my own work, take this and slap me awake..."

Subconsciously, the seeds of doubt had been planted long ago.