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CHAPTER 113: OUR WORK IN SOMEONE ELSE'S HANDS
Evan's POVThe boardroom was still silent when I set my phone down. The DNA report lay open on the table like an accusation. I stared at the numbers without blinking. Then my assistant stepped in, tablet in hand. “Mr. Rourke, the engineers are waiting in the conference room downstairs. They’ve been waiting for you.” I stood. “Take them in. Now.” By the time I reached the lower level, the room was packed with thirty of our brightest people. Their faces were tight, the kind of tight that comes when someone just handed them the keys to the kingdom. I walked to the head of the table. “We have a problem. Vantage Core just dropped a new product called Core-One. It’s not just similar, it’s *too* similar. Same core architecture, same proprietary alloy formulas, same heat-dissipation matrix. Our engineers are calling it identical in every respect.” A ripple of tension moved through the crowd. Dr. Elena Voss raised her hand immediately. “They didn’t reinvent the wheel, sir. They s
CHAPTER 112: THE COMPANY THAT RECEIVED IT
Evan's POV"Kestrel Dynamics doesn't exist anymore," Miriam said.It was 7 a.m. I was on my second coffee and my first hour of real sleep in two days. I put the cup down. "Marcus told me they're our biggest competitor.""They were. Eleven months ago they sold themselves. The name stayed on the server because nobody bothered to change the registration." She turned her tablet toward me. "Kestrel was bought by Vantage Core Technologies."Bennett looked up from his chair. "Vantage Core? The ones who keep showing up at our trade shows?""The ones who spent five years trying to get into our market and failed every time," Audrey said. "They lost two bids to us last year.""Then they have a reason," I said. "Who runs them?""Julian Pryce, CEO. Ex-banker. Loud on television." Miriam scrolled. "Their general counsel is Dana Okafor. She's the one who'll answer the phone.""Get her.""Evan." Graham spoke from the doorway. He had a folder under his arm. "Don't call them angry.""I'm not angry.""Y
CHAPTER 111: THE SIGNATURE THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
Evan's POV"That's not Harlan Cho's signature," Miriam said.I looked up from the page. It was almost midnight. Nobody had gone home."Last night I said it was," I said. "It looked the same as the one on the partnership agreement.""It looked the same because it sits in the same spot. The COO's line, right under the CEO's." She enlarged the scan until the ink filled the wall screen. "Look at the tail on the last letter. Cho loops it. This one cuts straight across.""Whose is it?"She clicked once. A second signature appeared beside it, pulled from an old Aurelis filing. They matched stroke for stroke."Martin Veyne," she said. "Aurelis Global's chief operating officer."Bennett swore under his breath. "The number two man.""Which means the order came from the top floor," Audrey said. "Not a regional director. Not a clerk.""If it's real," I said."You think it isn't?""I think Wu left it behind on purpose. Two hours after he quit, with a bow on it." I tapped the page. "Men who run don
CHAPTER 110: THE MAN INSIDE THE PARTNERSHIP
Evan's POV"He notarized it?" I stopped in the hotel lobby. A bellhop glanced at me and looked away. "Miriam, say that again.""Dennis Wu's stamp is on the Singapore signature. The one with Rebecca's name." Her keys clicked in the background. "I missed it because the notary block was blurred in our copy. The original is clear.""Eleven years at Aurelis. And he was a notary in Singapore?""Licensed there, yes. And Evan, that's not all. Get back here. You need to see this in person."Forty minutes later, the boardroom table was covered in paper. Audrey and Bennett stood on one side. Miriam sat on the other with three screens open."Start with the restricted documents," I said.Miriam turned a screen toward me. "Remember the request for Nexora's core blueprint and patent filings? Aurelis called it a mistake. A wrong portal.""I remember.""It wasn't a mistake. The request was approved at the regional level. Dennis Wu's approval code is on it. He signed off on it himself."Bennett leaned
CHAPTER 109: THE FIRST WARNING
Evan's POV"You have until noon, Mr. Rourke. Explain the delays, or we walk."The voice on the speakerphone belonged to Aurelis's lawyer. He didn't sound angry. He sounded like a man reading a sentence to a prisoner.It was 8 a.m. I hadn't slept. Nobody in the boardroom had."Noon is fine," I said. "I'll do better. You'll have it in an hour.""We'll be waiting."The line clicked off.Bennett dropped into a chair. "They sent the notice at midnight. Midnight, Evan. They wanted us to panic.""Are we?" I asked."A little," Audrey said. She was staring at the formal notice on her tablet. "It says the Thailand cancellation proves Nexora can't deliver. It says we breached the agreement.""We didn't breach anything." I turned to Miriam. "Show them."She slid a folder across the table. "Signed contracts with both replacement suppliers. Dated before the notice. First shipment leaves tomorrow. And here's the part they won't like." She tapped a page. "The Thailand supplier didn't cancel because o
CHAPTER 108: THE SUPPLY CHAIN
Evan's POVMy phone buzzed again. The message from procurement sat on the table like a live wire.I read it once more. One supplier just canceled. No reason. No warning. Just gone.The room was quiet except for the low hum of the city outside the glass walls.Audrey leaned forward, arms crossed tight. “Evan, this is bad. If one supplier cancels, the whole Asia hub stalls. The board just texted. They’re asking if we’re still moving forward.”Bennett walked in, phone in hand, face tight. “I told them phase one is still on track. The numbers are up thirteen percent. But they’re panicking because the Thailand logistics supplier just pulled out.”Lydia stepped out of her office, tablet ready, voice steady. “The rebrand is still trending. The headlines love the family story. But if the press finds out we’re losing suppliers left and right, they’ll call it ‘Rourke Meridian falling apart.’ We can’t give them that headline, Evan. Not when we’re finally moving.”Graham appeared in the hallway,
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