Chapter 4 - The Abandoned Pawn
Daniel stood on the landing, staring blankly at the closed elevator doors.
The silver engagement banner had faded from his memory; now he smelled like panic and cheap cologne.
He turned back toward my camera, raising his hands in surrender.
"Claire, please," Daniel cried, slamming his open palms against the door.
"She’s lying."
"Vanessa told me we were just licensing the software to an overseas partner to cover the debt."
"I didn't know she was selling the proprietary source code to a foreign shell corporation."
"If that code leaves the country, it's corporate treason."
"I'll spend thirty years in federal prison, Claire."
I unlocked the deadbolt with a sharp, heavy click.
The door swung open four inches, caught securely by the heavy titanium security chain.
I looked Daniel straight in the eye through the narrow gap.
His designer tie was crooked, and his eyes were red from crying.
"You gave away my father’s life's work for an engagement photo and a corner office," I said.
"She promised me I would finally be the CEO," Daniel sobbed, clutching the doorframe.
"Everyone always looked at me like I was just your husband."
"Every investor meeting, every gala, every golf outing—they only respected me because of your father's surname."
"I wanted to build something that was mine, Claire."
I looked at him with profound disgust.
"You didn't build anything, Daniel."
"You stole the blueprints from my father's safe and handed them to a predator in high heels."
Daniel’s knees buckled slightly, and he leaned his forehead against the oak trim.
"Help me," he pleaded.
"You have the master authorization codes for the server facility in New Jersey."
"If you lock down the servers right now, Vanessa can't download the encryption keys to her hard drive."
"Give me the codes, Claire."
"I swear to God I will testify against her in court."
I studied his trembling hands.
"The master codes aren't in New Jersey, Daniel," I said softly.
He looked up, confused.
"They're stored on the local mainframe in your old executive suite at Whitmore headquarters."
Daniel shook his head frantically.
"No, that's impossible."
"Vanessa wiped that server three days ago when she moved into the top floor."
"She didn't wipe it," I replied, holding up my phone.
The screen displayed a live internal security alert from the Whitmore Dynamics headquarters.
A terminal in the sub-basement had just been accessed using Daniel’s personal biometric thumbprint.
Daniel stared at the phone in pure horror.
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"I’m standing right here," Daniel whispered, his voice trembling.
"Who is inside my office?"
