Chapter 2

At 2 a.m., the doorbell rang. Someone was leaning on it nonstop while pounding on the front door with all their strength.

I got up from the couch, took my time walking over, and opened the door.

Danica stood outside, her hair disheveled, her eyes red-rimmed. She was dragging a suitcase behind her and breathing hard. She'd clearly come straight from the airport.

"Kit... Kit, have you lost your mind?!" She stormed inside and grabbed me by the collar. "Why did you touch that account? Do you have any idea what you're doing?!"

I looked down at her hand gripping my shirt and laughed. "Danica, I was about to ask you the same thing. What exactly is that money?"

"That's... that's Eveningstar Technologies' operating capital. If you start messing with it, you're going to cause serious problems."

"Eveningstar Technologies' operating capital?" I removed her hand from my collar, my voice calm. "The $300 thousand in patent royalties deposited every quarter is operating capital?"

The color drained from her face. "You... how do you know about that?"

"I also know you've been 'managing' those royalties with Kevin all this time. Haven't you?"

She took a step back. Panic flashed across her face, but it disappeared almost immediately.

Looking at me, she slowly walked to the couch, sat down, and lit a cigarette. I'd never seen her smoke before.

"You went through my email?" she asked.

"Yes." She exhaled a stream of smoke and smiled. It wasn't a guilty smile, but a relieved one.

"Maybe that's for the best." Leaning back against the couch, she looked at me. There was no guilt in her eyes, only a strange sense of calm. "Kit, what do you want to know? Well, I'll tell you. Kevin isn't a client. We've been together for two years."

She flicked ash into the tray, speaking as casually as if she were commenting on the weather. "For the past five years, you've known nothing, and you've lived a pretty happy life, haven't you?"

My fists clenched until my knuckles turned white.

She glanced at me before crushing out her cigarette. "So stop making trouble. Even if you transfer that account, it won't do you any good. The patent licensing agreements were signed under Eveningstar Technologies' seal, not your name."

"If you think you're getting everything back, it won't be that easy." She stood and smoothed out her skirt. "You're an engineer, Kit. You don't understand anything else, and you can't beat me at this."

Dragging her suitcase behind her, she walked into the master bedroom and shut the door.

I was left standing alone in the living room.

A chill spread through my entire body. She couldn't even be bothered to lie to me anymore.

The next morning, I left for work.

As I reached the entrance of the neighborhood, a black Porsche was parked by the curb.

The driver's window rolled down, and a man wearing sunglasses smiled at me.

"You're Kit Pearson?"

I stopped. "Who are you?"

He removed his sunglasses, revealing a pair of narrow eyes. "Kevin. Kevin Baker."

Blood rushed to my head.

Leaning against the car door, he looked me up and down with an amused smile. "Danica told me about the scene you made yesterday. I thought I'd stop by, see how you're doing, and have a chat."

"There's nothing to talk about." I turned to leave.

Behind me, he spoke again, unhurried, "Kit, I don't mean any harm. Honestly, I admire you. You're brilliant at what you do.

"But you know as well as I do that technology alone isn't enough. Without Danica handling the business side, those patents of yours wouldn't be worth a dime."

I stopped walking. "So?"

"So I'm here to offer you a deal." He stepped in front of me and pulled a check from the inside pocket of his suit jacket.

"Here's $500,000. Cancel the new card link, and stay out of the company's affairs from now on." He held the check out to me.

I stared at it. I didn't even make $100,000 a year. That check was worth five years of my salary.

However, those patents had generated $6 million over the last five years. He thought he could buy me off with half a million?

"No."

Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Kit, don't be stupid."

He pulled the check back and patted my shoulder. The touch made my skin crawl.

"Go home and think about it. You won't get an offer this good twice."

He got back into the Porsche. The engine roared to life, and the car disappeared down the road.

I stood there, my fists clenched tight.