Chapter 7 - The True Architect
Damian was pinned against the glass wall by the federal marshal, his designer suit rumpled, staring at the screen in complete, paralyzed shock.
“No… no, that’s impossible!” Damian cried out, sweat pouring down his face.
“I created Thorne Media! I developed the streaming algorithms! I wrote the syndicated pilots that won twelve Emmys!”
“Bianca and I built this network from scratch!”
I walked over to the chairman’s podium, tapping the screen to bring up the United States Patent and Trademark Office registry.
For five years, Damian had stood on global stages, accepting awards, giving TED talks, and being hailed by Forbes as the visionary genius of modern digital media.
He had played the role of the tech titan to perfection.
On the seventy-inch displays, the original copyright filings, software architecture repositories, and script registries illuminated the boardroom.
Every single Emmy-winning script had been registered under the pseudonym ‘C. V. Blackwood.’
The proprietary compression algorithm that powered the Thorne streaming platform was patented under my private research foundation two years before Damian and I ever met.
Damian had never written a single line of code.
He had never drafted a single pilot episode.
He was simply the charismatic actor I allowed to read the lines in public while I worked eighteen hours a day in the shadows, crafting the entire empire from behind the curtain.
“You never built anything, Damian,” I said, looking at him with absolute, cold finality.
“You were simply the polished mouthpiece I hired to present my creations to the world.”
“And the moment you decided to poison the mind that fed you, you guaranteed your own total annihilation.”
Marcus Cole stepped forward, distributing thick cease-and-desist injunctions to every board member at the table.
“As of 8:00 AM, the Blackwood Trust has formally revoked all intellectual property licenses granted to Thorne Media,” Marcus announced.
“Every broadcast channel, streaming server, and syndicated network operating under the Thorne name is hereby shut down immediately.”
“Furthermore, we are filing a six-hundred-million-dollar copyright infringement and corporate embezzlement lawsuit against Damian Thorne personally.”
The lead independent director of the board, an elderly media mogul named Thomas Sterling, stood up and looked at Damian with profound disgust.
“Damian,” Sterling said, his voice trembling with outrage.
“You are officially terminated as Chief Executive Officer for gross moral turpitude and criminal conspiracy.”
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“You are stripped of all severance, all stock options, and all corporate indemnity.”
“Get this pathetic fraud out of our sight.”
