Chapter 4

On the eighth day, my mother-in-law, Yvonne Sutton, showed up.

The moment she walked through the door, she got straight to the point. "Kit, Danica told me about the stunt you pulled a while back."

She sat across from me at the dining table, hands folded, impatience written all over her face.

"What exactly are you unhappy about? She feeds you, takes care of you, and never makes you worry about Eveningstar Technologies. You're a tech guy. Why do you need to stick your nose into all that?"

My fork paused halfway to my mouth. "Mom, I was just curious. I didn't mean anything by it."

"Curious?" Yvonne let out a cold laugh. "You signed the paperwork and got what was coming to you. Don't get greedy."

Beside her, Danica quickly tried to smooth things over. "Mom, that's enough. He understands now."

Yvonne shot me a sharp look. "Good."

She pulled a bank card from her purse and slapped it onto the table. "This is the new allowance card Danica got for you. From now on, you'll get $10,000 a month. That's $2,000 more than before. Fair deal, isn't it?"

$10,000.

My patents generated $9 million a year, and they had generously raised my allowance to $10,000, and somehow they thought they were doing me a favor.

I picked up the card and smiled. "Thanks, Mom."

Yvonne nodded in satisfaction. "That's more like it. A man has food on the table and a roof over his head. What's the point of all the fuss?"

After dinner, Danica walked her mother downstairs. Meanwhile, I stayed at the table, turning the bank card over in my hands.

On the tenth day, I received a message from Natalie.

"Mr. Pearson, I looked into Eveningstar Technologies' corporate filings from the past three years and found something interesting."

"What is it?"

"Three months ago, the company added a new shareholder: Kevin Baker. He owns 25 percent of the company."

I stared at the screen.

"His capital contribution was listed as 'technology-for-equity'."

A laugh escaped me.

Technology-for-equity? Using my technology, and he was the one getting shares?

Another message arrived.

"There's more.

"I reviewed the shareholder agreement. It contains a clause stating that if the patent license is terminated, Kevin Baker's shares automatically become worthless.

"In other words, if you terminate the license, not only will Eveningstar Technologies lose its product lines, but Kevin's 25 percent stake will become worthless as well."

I set down my phone and let out a long sigh.

They kicked me out of the company, took my technology for themselves, and Danica's lover even used my patents as equity.

What a perfect scam.

By the fifteenth day, everything appeared normal.

Danica came home on time every day. She cooked and cleaned, and every now and then, she even acted affectionate.

The better her performance, the more disgusted I felt. Nevertheless, I put up with it. After all, there was one final step left.

That afternoon, Natalie called.

"Mr. Pearson, all the paperwork is ready. Come by the office so we can review everything one last time."

I took the afternoon off and headed to the law firm.

A thick stack of documents covered Natalie's desk.

"Let's go through them."

She pointed to the first file. "First, the patent license termination notice. Once issued, it becomes effective in 60 days. At that point, every product line at Eveningstar Technologies will lose the right to use your patents and face a complete shutdown in production.

"Second, the intellectual property complaint. Kevin Baker acquired 25 percent ownership through a technology-for-equity contribution despite having no technical achievements of his own. The technology involved belongs entirely to you. This constitutes a false capital contribution.

"Third, the regulatory complaint. Eveningstar Technologies' financial records over the past five years contain significant issues. As both a technology contributor and a 15-percent shareholder, you were never notified of any profit distributions and were never invited to shareholder meetings. This may constitute a violation of minority shareholder rights.

"Fourth, the divorce petition. Attached are the affair evidence, evidence of asset transfers, and banking records showing transfers from company accounts to Kevin Baker's personal accounts over the past five years. Total amount transferred: $11 million."

I looked at the four files and took a deep breath. "And there's this."

I pulled the recorder from my pocket and placed it on the desk. "Over the last fifteen days, I've recorded more than 70 hours of conversations. That includes Danica admitting her relationship with Kevin, admitting she concealed the patent royalties, and everything Kevin said to me personally."

Natalie listened to several key recordings, her eyebrows going higher and higher as she grew impressed.

"Mr. Pearson, these recordings are absolutely admissible as evidence." She closed the folder and looked at me. "Are you sure you want to do all four at once? No room for compromise?"

I smiled. "It's been five years. They conned me out of more than $6 million. They took my technology. They slept together behind my back.

"And they still think giving me $10,000 a month is some kind of generous gift. Even now, they still think I'm just a nerd who can't fight back."

I stood up. "Well, it's time to show them exactly what happens when the tide turns."