Chapter 4

At ten the next morning, Apex's final due diligence began right on schedule.

By then, I was already on a flight to Maine.

Thirty thousand feet above the ground, sunlight streamed through the window and fell across the back of my hand.

But through my headset came the voices from the executive conference room at DeepCare headquarters.

Harper had arranged a remote connection for me.

I didn't need to be there.

They were about to find out the truth without me.

"As you can see, DeepCare's core medical AI system has undergone a complete upgrade..." Preston's voice was as confident as ever.

He stood in the center of the conference room, enthusiastically laying out his vision for the company's future to Apex's investment team.

He sounded like the funding was already in the bank. "Over the next three years, we expect—"

"Let's stop there, Mr. Tanner." A cool female voice cut him off.

The room went silent.

Harper.

"Your projections aren't what we're here to discuss." Her voice was calm, but carried the kind of authority no one dared challenge.

"Before this presentation even started, our technical team ran your system against real clinical data."

Preston's voice tightened. "And?"

Harper gave a faint, humorless laugh. "It crashed within three seconds."

"Worse, it generated diagnostic outputs that should never have appeared during testing."

The room seemed to freeze.

"That's impossible!" Preston blurted it out. "Our system was fully repaired just yesterday—"

"Repaired?" Harper cut him off.

"You mean the patch your contractors threw together?"

Preston's face changed completely.

"Willow!" He spun toward her. "You told me everything was fine!"

Willow's voice immediately turned tearful. "I...I don't know. The contractors told me the tests had passed..."

"The contractors." Harper repeated the words, the contempt in her voice unmistakable.

"Preston, you're asking Apex to invest in a system whose core algorithm can't even survive a stress test."

"You really think we're going to write a check for that?"

Cold sweat broke out across Preston's forehead.

Desperate, he grabbed onto the only explanation he had left. "Ms. Wainscott, this is all because of Sloane!"

"She deliberately sabotaged the system before she quit. I just need a little more time to get everything back up and running—"

"Who did you say?" Harper's voice suddenly turned cold.

Preston hesitated. "Sloane."

He clenched his jaw. "Sloane Waverly."

"The woman you claim quit because she was jealous of Willow."

There was silence on the other end of the call.

Then came the sound of papers being turned.

Harper spoke again. "It seems you still have no idea what you've actually taken."

Preston's breathing caught. "What does that mean?"

"DeepCare never owned the core technology in the first place."

Preston went completely still.

Harper continued, each word deliberate. "Six months ago, Sloane assigned the core algorithm patent to an independent holding company."

"And the person who controls that company..." she paused, "Sloane Waverly."

The conference room fell utterly silent.

"That's impossible..." Preston's voice began to shake. "She transferred her entire thirty percent stake to me!"

Harper laughed softly. The sound was quiet, but chilling.

"You received DeepCare's equity."

"You never received ownership of the patent covering its core technology."

"You don't own the patent, and you don't have a license."

"Yet last night, you had your contractors modify, test, and commercially deploy technology you had no right to use."

Preston had nothing to say.

Harper didn't give him a chance to recover. "Apex's legal team has already verified the patent ownership."

"And you presented this technology to us as the foundation of your entire financing pitch."

She paused, her voice turning ice-cold. "Preston, this is no longer a technical failure."

"This is now an intellectual-property issue."

Panic finally broke through his composure. "No... Ms. Wainscott, there has to be some misunderstanding."

"I can contact Sloane."

"I can give her the shares back."

"I can—"

"You're only thinking about calling her now?" Harper cut him off coldly.

"Too late."

Preston's breathing grew increasingly ragged. "Sloane will listen to me."

"We were together for five years."

"She's just angry with me. If I go to her, she'll—"

"Why would she save you?" Harper's question dropped into the room like a blade.

"You drove her out of the company yourself."

"And now you expect her to fix the disaster you created?"

Preston was completely silent.

A few seconds later, Harper spoke again. "Apex is withdrawing from the Series A."

The last trace of color drained from Preston's face.

"No..." His voice was barely audible. "Ms. Wainscott, please. Give me one more chance."

"I'll cooperate with another round of due diligence."

"I can hire a new engineering team."

"I'll fix the system. I promise."

Harper ignored his pleas. She simply turned to the final page of the documents in front of her.

"There's one more thing."

Preston looked up sharply. "What?"

Harper's voice was frighteningly calm.

"Under DeepCare's existing shareholder agreement, a material change in ownership of its core technology triggers a special review by the board."

Preston's eyes widened. "You..."

It seemed he finally understood what was coming.

Harper gave him no further explanation. "So, Preston—you are no longer in control of this company."

"The board has voted to remove you as CEO." She closed the file. "Take Willow and leave."