Chapter 3

3.

The color drained from their faces. The room went quiet.

Maya's face turned a bright, angry red. "Evelyn, shut up! Jasper and I are strictly professional!"

I raised an eyebrow. "I didn't mention any names, Maya. Why are you so quick to jump into the spotlight?"

She looked like she was about to choke.

"Enough!" Jasper slammed his hand on a desk.

"The investor is my distant cousin. That deal was signed because of my connections, not your work. You were just a warm body in the room."

"You're lucky I don't sue you for incompetence. You should be paying the company for the privilege of working here."

I almost laughed. Jasper actually believed his own lies.

Maya perked up again. "Exactly! Jasper is the genius. I slapped that investor, and he still wants to work with us!"

"We have the core technology. We're invincible. We don't even need a sales department."

I felt a pang in my stomach. Hearing her talk about the tech I built as if it were hers made me feel sick.

"Stop faking the pain," Maya sneered. "You were just the girl who poured the drinks. You were born to serve. If you drink yourself to death, that's on you."

I sighed. It was useless to talk to them.

The investment was indeed tied to the technology. But I was the one who coded it.

I had a degree in computer science, but I moved to sales because the company was a mess and needed someone who could actually talk to people.

The investor didn't care about Jasper. I had spent weeks helping him fix his own data leaks for free just to get him to listen to my pitch.

Jasper was so blinded by his own ego that he fired the only person who knew how the system actually worked.

"Sign the NDA and the exit papers, Evelyn. You're useless to us now," Jasper said, tossing a stack of papers at me.

I picked up the pen. As I was about to sign, I felt a hand on my waist.

Jasper leaned in, whispering in my ear. "You've got a lot of fire, Evelyn. It's a shame you're so stubborn."

"If you learn to be more like Maya, I might have a different kind of contract for you."

The disgust hit me like a wave. I spun around and slapped Jasper across the face as hard as I could.

The sound echoed through the entire floor.

Jasper clutched his cheek, his face contorting with rage.

"You bitch! You think you're better than everyone else? You're just a washed-up loser!"

I threw the signed papers at his face. He glared at me, his chest heaving.

"Don't think this is over. I'm triggering your non-compete clause. You're blacklisted. You'll never work in tech again!"

I didn't answer. I just walked toward my desk.

Maya was still holding my laptop, scrolling through my encrypted folders.

"Can you even understand that?" I mocked. "I thought you were a genius. Why do you need my notes?"

Maya turned to me, her eyes flaring.

"This garbage? I could write this in my sleep. You're pathetic for treating this trash like a treasure."

I just smiled. "If it's trash, why are you digging through it? Worried you're not as smart as you claim?"

That did it. Maya screamed in frustration.

She dragged my entire project folder―ten gigabytes of data―into the trash and hit 'empty.'

I watched ten years of my life vanish in a second. I didn't feel sad. I felt free.

Suddenly, Jasper's phone rang. His face went pale as he listened.

"The investor says the program is crashing. Maya, find the source code. They need to see the architecture right now."

Maya froze. "Sure... I'm on it."

I picked up my box of belongings and walked out the door. My phone buzled with a notification.

It was an acceptance letter from the government.

At the same time, Marcus Thorne called me.

"Evelyn, I heard Jasper is trying to blacklist you. He's even threatening to sue you for damages."

"If you need anything, let me know. I'll handle the legal fees."

I smiled. "Don't worry, Marcus. Jasper thinks he can ruin me with a non-compete clause."

"I won't be working for you for a while. I found a much bigger protector."

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