e desk. The frantic buzzing had stopped hours ago. He felt a strange sense of calm, a

any. He was still technically a consultant, a title Chloe had given him after the company grew be

y used, suddenly lit up with a call. It was M

d, his voice strained with panic. "It's th

k in his chair.

posed to have rewritten. It's corrupting the entire database. We're losing client data, Ethan.

ked at Liam' s initial code and told Chloe it was sloppy and unstable. He' d tol

alous of his talent, Ethan. Liam is a rock

," Ethan said, his voice flat. "Liam

en for three hours, just sweating. He has no idea what he's do

ontract stipulates a 24-hour notice period for non-emergency on-site work. This

"The whole project could colla

'm not coming in, Mark. Send me an official email req

hun

so she could take the credit for the save. She' d done it before. She'd praise him in private, tell him h

this

in this very room while she drafted business plans. He remembered selling the stocks his grandfather had left him to provide the seed money she needed, a fact she

ool. A supporti

rp, insistent chime that

then a third time, followed

phole. It wasn't Liam. It was Chloe's personal assista

the door

tered. "Chloe sent me. She need

ltant," he said calmly. "And I'm not o

. She said... she said to t

waiting at the curb. Chloe wasn' t just sen

e might feel some remorse, some

voice dropping to a cold, quie

ace, the click of the lock