Chapter 7 - THE CALL MARK SHOULD NEVER HAVE RECEIVED
Mark stared at his phone.
I stared at Mark.
“Why does Mason Wren have your number?”
“I don’t know.”
“Answer it.”
“Elena—”
“Answer it.”
He put the call on speaker.
A man’s voice filled the ballroom.
“Mark?”
Mason sounded almost cheerful.
Mark swallowed.
“Yes.”
“Is Elena there?”
Mark looked at me.
I nodded.
“Yes.”
Mason laughed softly.
“Good. Saves time.”
Sterling motioned for security to record the call.
Mason continued.
“Elena, congratulations on finally introducing yourself to your husband.”
I ignored the provocation.
“What do you want?”
“What was always ours.”
“The model?”
“The company.”
Adrian’s expression tightened.
Interesting.
He had not expected that answer.
I looked at him.
“Your partner seems ambitious.”
Adrian said nothing.
Mason continued.
“Adrian always thought too small.”
Now Adrian’s calm disappeared.
Jessica whispered, “What is happening?”
Good question.
The conspiracy was apparently conspiring against itself.
Mason told us the legacy archive contained more than source code.
It held early ownership agreements, patent drafts, and escrow files.
Some documents could allegedly challenge NovaStream’s current intellectual property chain.
Sterling shook his head.
“Settlements resolved those claims.”
“Did they?” Mason asked.
Then he laughed.
“Check Appendix Nine.”
Sterling’s face went blank.
I knew that look.
He knew the term.
“What is Appendix Nine?”
No answer.
“Arthur.”
He looked at me.
“It was a contingency agreement drafted by your grandmother.”
Of course.
Another buried document.
The agreement apparently stated that if NovaStream’s core technology were ever transferred without unanimous founder authorization during the first ten years, certain ownership rights would revert.
Mason believed the clause still applied.
Sterling believed it expired.
Adrian apparently believed the document had been destroyed.
And my grandmother had hidden a copy.
Possibly inside the archive.
Mark interrupted.
“What does any of this have to do with me?”
Mason answered immediately.
“You were useful.”
Same word Frank might use for a fool.
Useful.
“You wanted status. Jessica wanted access. Adrian wanted revenge.”
Mark looked at Jessica.
“And you?”
Mason chuckled.
“I wanted everyone distracted.”
Then Sterling’s phone lit up with a security alert.
Someone had just entered NovaStream headquarters using Mark’s executive credentials.
Mark looked horrified.
“I’m standing here.”
Sterling stared at the screen.
The access badge was not merely Mark’s.
May you like
The biometric approval matched his profile.
And whoever entered the building was heading toward the original server vault.
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