Chapter 4

Using Evelyn's private connections, I set up a meeting with the hacker.

We met at a secluded coffee shop on the outskirts of the city.

He was already there, visibly fidgeting, scanning every exit.

"Hi," he stammered, standing up awkwardly. "What's this about?"

I gestured for him to sit. "Relax. Just want to talk."

He eyed me with deep suspicion. "If this is about Claire Hastings, I don't know anything."

"Don't shut the door so fast." I smiled, sliding a folder across the table. "Hear my offer first."

"Employment contract. VP of Infrastructure. Three hundred grand base, plus equity."

He stared at the paper, stunned. "Why would you give me this?"

"Because you're damn good at what you do." I flagged down a barista and ordered two black coffees. "You wiped my servers, but you were just a hired gun. I looked at your execution logs. You've got talent."

He fell silent, letting out a self-deprecating scoff. "You give me too much credit. I'm just a..."

"A hacker?" I finished. "No. You're an engineer who took a wrong turn. Everyone makes mistakes. What matters is knowing when to pivot."

I locked eyes with him. "I'm giving you an exit ramp."

He stared into his lap for a long time before looking up. "What do you want from me?"

He was hooked.

"Two things."

"First, the hard evidence that Claire Hastings ordered you to wipe my code."

"Second, you testify when the time comes."

His face drained of color. "That... that's too dangerous..."

"High risk, high reward," I countered calmly. "Besides, do you really think you have an alternative? Claire doesn't trust you anymore, does she?"

He snapped his head up. "How did you know?"

I chuckled. "The IP leak that led us to you—you left breadcrumbs on purpose, didn't you? You wanted to get caught."

He paused, then slowly nodded. "She was setting me up to take the fall. She’s been digging into my past to frame me before I could speak out."

He took a sharp breath, his jaw tightening. "Fine. I'll do it. But on one condition."

"Name it."

"No corporate contract. What I did was illegal; either way, I might face jail time. I just want enough money wired to an offshore trust to make sure my family is taken care of."

I was surprised, but nodded without hesitation. "Done. Evelyn Reed honors her word. She'll handle the logistics."

A massive weight seemed to lift from his shoulders. "Thank you."

He reached into his backpack, pulled out an encrypted drive, and handed it to me.

"Everything's on here. Audio recordings of Claire directing the wipe, wire transfers, plus evidence of her embezzling company funds and cooking the books."

Holding that drive, a storm of emotions hit me.

With this, Claire was finished.

On my way home, I picked up Claire's favorite artisanal cheesecake.

She took the box with delight, though a flicker of guilt flashed across her eyes.

"What's got you in such a good mood?"

"Just had an epiphany," I said, watching her carefully. "If the past is gone, I should cherish what I have right in front of me."

Tears welled in her eyes as she threw her arms around me, burying her face into my chest.

"Ethan... I'm so sorry..."

My body went rigid. "Sorry for what?"

For a second, I thought she was going to confess everything. But she pulled back, sniffling:

"I'm sorry I'm so useless... that I couldn't find a better team to save your project..."

The tiny spark of hope inside me died completely.

The next morning, I walked into the office, only to find my keycard denied at the gate.

The receptionist looked mortified. "Ethan... Claire said you've been working yourself sick. HR was instructed to process a temporary administrative leave for you."

I dialed Claire immediately. "You suspended me? What the hell is this?"

"Babe, don't be mad," she said softly over the phone. "It's for your own good. Lucas said the rebuild is at a critical phase and needs total focus..."

"So your solution is locking me out of my own company?"

"Of course not! Once you've rested, you can come back anytime!"

I hung up without another word.

Looking at the glass tower I had built from the ground up—where I couldn't even step through the front door—a cold fury washed over me.

I dialed Evelyn.

She picked up on the first ring. "Need backup?"

"No," I took a deep breath. "Move the timeline up. We pull the trigger today."

That night, I slipped into the server room.

Just as Evelyn had joked, the security protocols were laughably porous. I bypassed the cameras with ease.

Lucas’s terminal was unlocked, midway through packaging the patent application assets.

I plugged in my drive and swapped the core algorithms with the booby-trapped files.

Done. I texted Evelyn: [Green light.]