Chapter 4 - The Unexpected Ally
Marcus’s confident smile faltered for a fraction of a second as Naomi strode into the boardroom. He quickly recovered, his expression twisting into condescending annoyance.
"Dr. Wheeler, this is a private corporate board meeting," Marcus said, standing up to block her path. "You have no business here. Security—"
"Save your breath, Marcus," Naomi interrupted, her voice ringing clear and authoritative across the silent room. She tossed a thick manila folder directly onto the center of the mahogany table, right in front of Arthur Pendelton. "I wouldn't call security if I were you. Unless you want them to arrest you for corporate espionage and attempted murder."
Arthur Pendelton picked up the folder, his eyes scanning the first page. "What is this?"
"That," Naomi said, stepping closer to the table, "is the complete molecular and digital trace of Aethel-C extracted from Toby Sherman’s gastric lavage. More importantly, it contains the encrypted IP routing logs showing where the compound was illegally synthesized and who authorized its distribution outside the secure laboratory."
Marcus’s face finally lost all color. The polished, untouchable mask cracked completely. "That's impossible. The servers were wiped."
"The hospital’s high-precision mass spectrometer doesn't rely on cloud servers, Marcus," Naomi said, turning her sharp gaze directly onto him. "It reads physical molecular structures. And embedded within the chemical signature of that specific batch of Aethel-C was a unique digital watermarked stabilizer—registered exclusively under the personal developer license of Dr. Marcus Vance."
The boardroom erupted in chaos. Directors stood up, shouting over one another, demanding answers.
Elijah stared at Naomi, his chest tightening with an overwhelming surge of emotions he had no right to feel: awe, profound gratitude, and a burning, agonizing ache of regret. She had come here. Not just to save his son, but to save him.
"It's a forgery!" Marcus shouted, his voice cracking with panic as he pointed a trembling finger at Naomi. "She's his ex-wife! She hates him! She's manufacturing evidence to help him keep his company!"
"She isn't manufacturing anything, Marcus," a cool, synthesized voice echoed from the wall-mounted speaker system.
The large projection screen behind the board table flickered to life. A live video feed appeared, showing federal agents standing inside a high-security warehouse downtown.
"This is Special Agent Vance—no relation," a federal investigator announced through the speaker. "We are currently executing a search warrant at a secondary facility rented under a shell corporation named Vance Holdings. We have recovered thousands of doses of illicit Aethel-C, along with financial records proving that Dr. Marcus Vance engineered the smear campaign against Naomi Wheeler six months ago to isolate Mr. Sherman."
Marcus took two stumbling steps back, his knees hitting his chair. "No... no, that's..."
Before he could finish the sentence, the heavy conference room doors opened once more. Two police officers stepped inside, their badges gleaming under the bright lights.
"Dr. Marcus Vance," the lead officer said, stepping up to the corporate traitor. "You’re under arrest for corporate conspiracy, unauthorized distribution of restricted experimental drugs, and attempted capital murder."
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As the handcuffs clicked sharply around Marcus’s wrists, he glared at Elijah with pure venom. "You think you won, Sherman? Check your personal accounts. I already liquidated your primary trust funds into an offshore account an hour ago!"
Elijah didn't even blink. He looked at Marcus with utter disdain. "Keep the money, Marcus. You’re going to need every penny for your prison commissary."
