Chapter 3 - The Theft
The drive back to Austin was a blur of blinding, unadulterated rage.
Arthur Callahan had used my basic human decency—my concern for his health—to pull me away from my company while he executed a hostile, illegal raid.
When I pulled up to the Hartwell headquarters, there were two black SUVs parked aggressively on the curb.
I stormed through the glass front doors.
The reception area was in complete disarray.
My employees were standing around in shocked silence.
Arthur was standing in the center of the room, wearing a tailored navy suit and looking entirely too healthy for a man who had supposedly collapsed.
Ryan stood beside him, clutching a silver briefcase containing my company’s hard drives.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I screamed, my voice echoing off the glass walls.
Arthur turned slowly, offering me a condescending, deeply fake smile.
“Emily,” he said smoothly.
“I’m glad you made it back.”
“I was beginning to worry you had run away again.”
I marched directly up to him, completely ignoring his intimidation tactics.
“You lied about a heart attack to steal my property,” I spat.
“I didn't steal anything,” Arthur replied calmly, adjusting his expensive tie.
“I am simply reclaiming the intellectual property that was developed using Callahan Freight resources.”
“That is a lie!” I shouted, pointing a shaking finger at him.
“I built that algorithm from scratch in my apartment!”
“You never gave me a single dime of support!”
Ryan laughed, a sharp, arrogant sound that instantly made my blood boil.
“You’re delusional, Emily,” Ryan sneered.
“The code structure on your servers perfectly matches a developmental project Callahan Freight abandoned three years ago.”
“We have the timestamps to prove it.”
I stared at him in absolute shock.
They hadn't just secured a court order.
They had fabricated evidence to make it look like I had stolen their rejected code.
“You planted it,” I realized aloud, the horrifying truth settling over me.
“You hacked my servers and planted the matching code structure before you filed the injunction.”
Arthur’s smile vanished, replaced by a cold, calculating glare.
“Be very careful what you accuse us of, Emily.”
“You are already facing federal charges for corporate espionage.”
“If you cooperate and sign the company over to Ryan, I will ask the judge for leniency.”
He was doing it again.
He was sacrificing me to elevate his stepson.
“I will never sign my company over to him,” I declared, my voice trembling with absolute fury.
Arthur sighed heavily, playing the role of the disappointed patriarch flawlessly.
“Then you leave me no choice.”
He nodded to his lawyers.
“File the criminal complaint.”
They turned and walked out of the building, taking the briefcase with my entire livelihood with them.
Daniel approached me slowly, his face pale and drawn.
“Emily, they have everything,” Daniel whispered.
“Our client lists, our financial records, our source code.”
“We’re dead in the water.”
I looked at the empty space where my servers used to be.
I had spent three years building an empire to prove I didn't need them.
And in less than twenty-four hours, they had burned it to the ground.
My burner phone, a secondary device I kept locked in my desk, suddenly began to ring.
I walked into my office and answered it.
“Hello?” I said, my voice barely holding together.
A deep, unfamiliar voice echoed through the speaker.
“Ms. Callahan, my name is Elias Vance.”
“I represent the two executives who were sitting three tables away from you at the retirement party last night.”
I frowned, trying to place the men he was talking about.
“Who do they work for?” I asked cautiously.
“They work for Apex Global Logistics,” Elias Vance replied.
My heart stopped completely.
Apex Global was the largest international shipping conglomerate in the world.
They were the absolute titans of the industry, and they were Callahan Freight’s most aggressive competitor.
“My clients were very impressed by your exit last night,” Elias continued smoothly.
“And they are fully aware of the illegal raid your father just conducted on your offices.”
I gripped the phone tightly.
“How do you know about the raid?”
Elias Vance chuckled darkly.
“Because we have been trying to bankrupt Arthur Callahan for five years, and he just handed us the perfect weapon.”
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“Meet me at the Four Seasons in one hour.”
“We are going to help you destroy him.”
