Chapter 9 - THE FLIGHT TO NEVADA
Daniel wanted to charter another plane.
Evelyn stopped him.
“You cannot reach Nevada before the vote.”
“Then we stop the plane.”
“With what authority?”
Daniel looked at me.
“The trust.”
Evelyn understood.
The patent license required the company to remain under approved leadership.
Marcus’s suspension of Daniel without a verified audit violated the agreement.
As controlling trustee, I could issue a temporary suspension of the license.
The notice would take effect immediately.
If the board voted while the license was suspended, directors could face personal liability for misrepresenting company assets.
I signed the suspension.
Evelyn sent it to every director.
Five minutes later, Rachel Kim called Daniel from the plane.
“Marcus says the trust is invalid.”
“It is not.”
“He says your mother is trying to destroy the company.”
I took the phone.
“Rachel, I funded the first servers in my garage.”
“I cooked meals for programmers who worked through the night.”
“I mortgaged this house when investors refused to believe in Daniel.”
“I am not destroying the company.”
“I am preventing Marcus from selling work that does not belong to him.”
Rachel became quiet.
“What do you want the directors to do?”
“Return home.”
“Order an independent audit.”
“And do not trust a document simply because Marcus places it in front of you.”
The directors argued inside the aircraft.
Two supported Marcus.
Three became uncertain.
Rachel convinced the pilot to turn around.
Marcus was not on the plane.
He had remained behind.
Daniel checked the company headquarters.
Marcus’s access card had been used twenty minutes earlier.
He was inside the server facility.
Police were notified.
By the time officers arrived, Marcus had locked the building.
He sent Daniel one message.
Come alone if you want your company to survive.
Daniel looked at me.
“No.”
“I am going with you.”
“Mom.”
“He underestimated me once.”
“He will not receive another chance.”
Police surrounded Mercer Systems headquarters.
Marcus allowed Daniel and me through the front entrance.
The lobby lights were off.
Emergency screens displayed lines of code.
The company’s core servers were being transferred to a private network.
Marcus stood behind the reception desk.
A handgun rested beside his laptop.
“You brought her,” he said.
Daniel moved in front of me.
Marcus smiled.
“Still learning to protect the right woman?”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“What do you want?”
“The trust authorization.”
“No.”
Marcus touched one key.
A warning appeared on the screens.
SYSTEM DELETION IN TEN MINUTES.
He looked at me.
May you like
“Sign over the patents.”
“Or your son watches his life’s work disappear.”
