Burning the Patents of Betrayal Chapter 07
A deathly silence fell over the room.
Every camera swung toward me in unison.
“I heard you and Ms. Black are married. Is there any chance this involves corporate espionage?”
Whispers spread through the audience, growing louder by the second.
Several executives sent by James began to look uneasy.
Julie watched me with absolute confidence.
She had always believed she knew me. In her eyes, I was still the same Adam-the man who would give up everything for her, who held nothing back.
All she had to do was expose me in public, leave me with nowhere to go, and I would bow my head like I had after every argument before, admit I was wrong, and come back to her side.
I stared at her, nausea and fury churning in my chest.
But after a few seconds, I suddenly let out a soft laugh.
I turned and shot James a look.
He gave a slight nod. One of his lawyers immediately stood, file in hand, and strode forward.
“Ladies and gentlemen, here are the complete patent registration documents for all the core technologies of this new product-including design specifications, production processes. And most importantly, the source code.”
He flipped to a page and held it up in front of Julie.
“Ms. Black, you claim Mr. Ford stole your company’s reserve patents. May I ask-can your company produce patent certificates and the underlying algorithmic logic to back up that claim?”
Julie’s secretary hurried to her side and whispered something urgently.
Even from a distance, I could see the color drain from Julie’s face.
A faint smile tugged at my lips.
Those codes and patents had all been personally encrypted by me.
And the product she had invested hundreds of millions into hadn’t even been filed for a patent yet. In the end, all her investment had become a tool to succeed for someone else-me.
When it became clear Julie couldn’t produce any evidence, the entire room understood.
The reporters immediately turned on her.
“Ms. Black, are you unable to prove this code belongs to Black Corporation?”
“Does that mean your earlier accusation amounts to defamation?”
“Ms. Black, given your marital relationship with Mr. Ford, is this confrontation at the launch event driven by personal conflict-an attempt at deliberate business sabotage?”
Within minutes, the situation completely reversed.
Julie suddenly took a deep breath. Under the astonished gaze of the crowd, she grabbed my wrist.
“Adam, whatever game you’re playing, come home with me right now. Don’t make a scene out of us.”
She tried to pull me off the stage, but I shook her hand off forcefully.
“Julie, show some respect. We’re no longer husband and wife. You have no right to ask me to go back and play your sick three-person game with you and your lover.”
Her face went deathly pale. Her eyes widened, her lips trembling.
“What… what kind of joke is this? Adam, you said you would love me forever…”
“Yes. I did say that. The Adam from before truly loved you-so much he was willing to give up his dignity, even his life.”
A mocking smile curled on my lips.
“But after seeing you and your little lover in all your filth, I realized-you’re nothing special. I don’t want anything that’s been dirtied.”
The words hit her like a slap across the face. Her cheeks flushed red, her chest heaving, as if deeply humiliated.
At that moment, the side door burst open again. Chuck rushed in, his face full of urgency.
He caught Julie as she swayed, steadying her.
Then he looked up at me with fury blazing in his eyes.
“Adam! How can you talk to Julie like that? Do you have any idea how she’s been these past few days, trying to find you? She can’t eat, she can’t sleep-she’s lost so much weight!
“If I hadn’t stayed by her side day and night, taking care of her, she would’ve collapsed by now!
“And you? Not only are you ungrateful, but you’ve been out enjoying yourself-and now you humiliate her in public? Adam, do you even have a conscience?!”
His performance was so convincing that murmurs began to ripple through the crowd.
I just looked at them calmly and turned to leave the stage. This circus act had gone on long enough.
Suddenly, Chuck stepped in front of me and shoved a photo into my hands.
My pupils shrank sharply.
In the photo, my sister was tied tightly to a chair, tape over her mouth. Her eyes were swollen red from crying, and clear handprints marked her face.
Around her stood seven or eight burly men with vicious expressions.
Chuck leaned close to my ear, his voice dripping with malicious satisfaction.
“If you don’t kneel and apologize to me and Julie, and admit you stole the secrets, I can’t guarantee what might happen to your sister. Adam, we’re all family-you wouldn’t want things to get this ugly, would you?”
