Chapter 2

He probably thought I'd walked out just to make a point.

He would find out soon enough that I wasn't throwing a tantrum.

The day after I left the incubator, I sat in a quiet café, slowly sipping an oat milk latte.

My phone kept lighting up.

Preston.

Three missed calls became ten, then more than twenty.

I glanced at the screen and blocked his number.

Sure enough, before noon, the company's internal channels were in complete chaos.

Willow had tried to integrate the core algorithm into a partner hospital's testing environment. Unfamiliar with the underlying architecture, she accidentally deleted a critical data-validation module.

The system crashed immediately, and several test datasets showed unusual access activity.

The hospital's security team launched an investigation.

The Series A hadn't even closed, and DeepCare had already handed its investors a potentially devastating security incident.

At two in the afternoon, Preston finally called me from another team member's phone.

The moment I answered, all the anger he'd been holding in exploded.

"Sloane! What the hell are you doing?!"

I pulled the phone away from my ear.

"Do you have any idea what happened? The system crashed. The hospital has suspended testing and is asking whether we violated their data-security protocols! The investors are reviewing the test results tomorrow. Get back here and fix the system. Now!"

I leaned back in my chair, completely calm.

"Preston, Willow is the one you put down as the inventor. If something went wrong, let her answer for it."

There was a brief silence.

"You knew she had just taken over!"

"So?"

"Then why the hell didn't you show her how to operate the system before you walked out?!" His voice rose. "Sloane, you did this on purpose. Are you really that determined to watch her fail?"

I gave a quiet laugh.

Even now, he still thought everything was my responsibility.

"Preston, I quit."

"You—"

"And you were the one who told me to put the company first."

I took a slow sip of my coffee.

"You trust Willow so much. Let her handle it."

"I never thought you'd put the entire company at risk over something this petty."

I lowered my eyes.

For five years, I'd rewritten his business plans, stayed up all night fixing code, and sat beside him through countless investor meetings.

When the company was struggling, I had even sold my car to make payroll.

Back then, he'd held me and promised we'd get through it together.

Now he was calling my refusal to clean up his mess "putting the company at risk."

Whatever warmth I had left for him finally died.

"Preston, I'm not your tech support, and I'm not here to clean up your mess."

"Don't push me."

There was silence for several seconds.

When he spoke again, his voice was ice-cold.

"Fine. If this is how you want to play it, let's make one thing clear."

"You think DeepCare can't function without you?"

"Let me tell you something. Apex's due diligence starts soon. Investors care about the business and my leadership, not whether one engineer gets credit."

I said nothing.

He clearly thought he'd found my weak spot.

"Get back here and fix the system. Otherwise, I'll have the board authorize a new financing round and dilute your stake."

I stared at the coffee swirling in my cup.

Finally.

This was exactly what I'd been waiting for.

"Fine."

My answer came so quickly that he paused.

"What did you say?"

"I said I'll be there."

I hung up, grabbed my coat, and walked out.

Half an hour later, I was standing outside the DeepCare lab again.

Inside, everything was chaos.

Engineers crowded around the servers while error messages flashed across their screens.

Willow sat at the main console, her eyes red from crying. Preston stood behind her, his face grim.

When he saw me, relief flashed across his face.

"Finally."

He pointed at the servers.

"The investors are reviewing the data tomorrow. Get to work."

I glanced at the screens but didn't move.

Instead, I opened my bag, pulled out a document, and slapped it down in front of him.

"Equity transfer agreement."

Preston stared at it.

"I'm transferring my entire thirty percent stake to you."

I met his eyes.

"Effective today, I'm leaving DeepCare. I'm no longer the CTO."

The room went silent.

Then his eyes lit up with barely concealed excitement.

"Sloane, you're—"

"Sign it."

Willow immediately spoke up, her eyes filling with tears.

"Sloane, if this is because of me, I can leave the company. You don't have to—"

"You don't have to leave."

I cut her off.

"From now on, you two can run this company however you want."

Willow's smile faltered.

Preston studied me for a moment before picking up the pen.

"You'll regret this."

"I won't."

He gave a cold laugh and signed the agreement.

"Sloane, this is your choice. When DeepCare closes its Series A and its valuation goes up tenfold, don't come crying back to me."

I took my copy of the agreement.

"Don't worry."

I picked up my bag and headed for the door.

Just before I left, I stopped.

"Good luck to the happy couple."

Then I walked away without looking back.

Preston thought he'd finally taken DeepCare from me.

What he didn't know was that six months ago, I'd transferred the core algorithm's underlying patent into my own name.

The company he thought he'd just taken from me was nothing but an empty shell.