“I know enough.”
“No.”
Richard walked toward the window.
“You know fragments.”
“Then give me the rest.”
Richard stared outside.
“Twenty years ago, Voss built a network.”
“I know.”
“No, you don't.”
Richard turned.
“He didn't build it to become rich.”
Marcus frowned.
“Then why?”
“To control governments.”
Marcus remained silent.
“Companies like Meridian were only tools,” Richard continued. “The real goal was infrastructure.”
“The algorithm.”
“Yes.”
“Why me?”
Richard sighed.
“Because your mind worked differently.”
Marcus's jaw tightened.
“That sounds flattering.”
“It isn't.”
Richard continued.
“You saw patterns other people missed. You could predict failures before they happened.”
“And Voss wanted that.”
“He wanted you.”
Marcus stepped closer.
“You funded my research.”
“Yes.”
“You manipulated my career.”
“Yes.”
“You monitored my family.”
Richard looked away.
“Yes.”
Marcus's voice became cold.
“And when I refused to cooperate?”
Richard said nothing.
Marcus understood.
“They tried to destroy me.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't they?”
“Helen stopped them.”
Marcus looked at him.
“And you?”
Richard's face hardened.
“I tried to protect you.”
Marcus laughed.
“You gave them my suite.”
Richard looked ashamed.
“I was under orders.”
“From Voss?”
“Yes.”
Marcus stared at him.
“What did he want?”
“The algorithm.”
“Why now?”
“Because the government is preparing a national infrastructure contract.”
Marcus understood.
“If Reed Systems wins, Voss loses control.”
Richard nodded.
“So you tried to force me into a crisis.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To make your board remove you.”
Marcus smiled bitterly.
“And David?”
“David was useful.”
“Victor?”
“Victor became a liability.”
“Helen?”
Richard looked away.
“She became dangerous.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“You threatened her.”
“No.”
“Then where is she?”
Richard opened another door.
Helen was sitting inside.
Her hands were tied.
Marcus's expression hardened.
Richard immediately raised a hand.
“Don't.”
Marcus stopped.
“Helen.”
She looked at him.
“I'm sorry.”
Marcus looked at Richard.
“Untie her.”
Richard shook his head.
“First, you give me the master key.”
Marcus smiled.
“You think I brought it?”
“You wouldn't come without it.”
Marcus took a small metal drive from his pocket.
Richard's eyes widened.
“The master key.”
Marcus held it between two fingers.
“You want this?”
“Yes.”
“Then let her go.”
Richard hesitated.
Marcus knew immediately.
Richard wasn't in control.
He was afraid.
A voice came from the hallway.
“You always were too sentimental, Richard.”
Marcus turned.
A man entered.
Samuel Voss.
He looked nothing like Marcus expected.
No dramatic entrance.
No visible security.
Just an older man in a dark suit.
Calm.
Almost ordinary.
Voss looked at Marcus.
“Finally.”
Marcus stared at him.
“You've been watching me for twenty years.”
Voss smiled.
“I've been investing in you.”
“You destroyed people's lives.”
“People destroy their own lives.”
“You manipulated me.”
“I gave you opportunities.”
“You tried to control my company.”
“I protected your company.”
Marcus laughed.
“By threatening my family?”
Voss's smile disappeared.
“Your family is irrelevant.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“Say that again.”
Voss looked at him.
“Your family is irrelevant to the objective.”
Marcus understood.
To Voss, people were numbers.
Executives were assets.
Companies were pieces.
Lives were acceptable losses.
“What objective?”
Voss pointed toward Helen.
“Your algorithm.”
Marcus shook his head.
“You'll never control it.”
Voss smiled.
“I already do.”
Marcus's heart stopped.
“What?”
Voss looked at Richard.
Richard activated a tablet.
A live map appeared.
Transportation networks across the country.
Airports.
Railways.
Ports.
Highways.
Marcus stared.
“No.”
Voss smiled.
“We've had access for months.”
“How?”
“Your CTO.”
Marcus understood.
The betrayal had been deeper than he thought.
Voss continued.
“We don't need your master key.”
“Then why demand it?”
“Because we want the final layer.”
Marcus stared at him.
“What does it unlock?”
Voss stepped closer.
“Prediction.”
Marcus said nothing.
“Your system doesn't merely identify vulnerabilities,” Voss explained. “It can predict how a network will respond to a disruption.”
Marcus felt sick.
“You want to manipulate infrastructure.”
“We want to control it.”
“You'll cause disasters.”
“Only if necessary.”
Marcus looked at Helen.
Then Richard.
Then Voss.
He suddenly understood why the train incident had happened.
Why the contracts had been manipulated.
Why his company had been targeted.
This wasn't about money.
It was about control.
Voss extended his hand.
“The drive.”
Marcus looked at it.
Then smiled.
“You made one mistake.”
Voss raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“You assumed I came here to negotiate.”
Marcus dropped the drive.
It shattered against the floor.
Voss stared.
For the first time, his calm expression disappeared.
Marcus smiled.
“You should have checked what was inside.”
Chapter 12
The room erupted into chaos.
Richard lunged toward the broken drive.
Voss shouted at him.
“Don't touch it!”