Chapter 3 - THE SECRET EXPOSEDGasps echoed across the laboratory floor.
Dr. Thorne stared at Clara in absolute horror. "Aethelgard? The rival firm that suffered a total corporate collapse three years ago?!"
Nathan walked up to Clara’s desk, placing a thick leather-bound dossier onto the table.
"I had my security team run a deep background check on you last night, Clara," Nathan said, his voice dropping into a dangerous, dark timbre. "Clara Bennett isn't your real name, is it?"
Clara took a slow, steady breath. The room seemed to shrink around her.
"No," she said softly.
"Your real name is Dr. Clarissa Vance," Nathan revealed, his eyes burning into hers. "Daughter of the late Dr. Arthur Vance, founder of Vance Robotics. You held four patents in micro-surgical robotics before you were accused of industrial espionage, blacklisted by the European Medical Board, and stripped of your credentials."
The engineers backed away from Clara as if she were carrying a contagious disease.
"Espionage?" Dr. Thorne gasped. "Nathan! She’s a spy! She was planted here by our competitors to sabotage the prototype!"
"If she wanted to sabotage it, she would have let you turn the power on yesterday and destroy the optical arm, Aris!" Nathan barked, silencing Thorne instantly.
Nathan leaned across the desk, looking deep into Clara’s dark eyes. "I know who framed you three years ago, Clarissa. It was the same corporate cartel currently trying to short my company's stock before our public debut on Friday."
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Clarissa’s hands trembled slightly. "Vance Bio-Tech... my father’s former business partner, Julian Sterling."
"Precisely," Nathan said softly. "Julian Sterling stole your patents, bankrupted your father, and forced you into hiding under a dead woman's name. And right now, Sterling holds fifteen percent of my company’s debt."
