Chapter 4

Julian's finger tapped lightly against the desk, letting out a soft click.

He picked up the lighter, tracing the worn, faded engraving on its surface, his dark eyes clouded with unreadable emotion.

"So... you've had the wrong man this entire time."

Losing the first round completely shattered Ethan's complacency toward me.

He finally realized that I was no longer a pawn he could push around at will.

Embarrassed and enraged, he redirected his wrath straight at Julian.

He knew full well that tech minds like Julian cared about nothing more than their own research projects.

During an executive board meeting, Ethan suddenly proposed an early review of Julian's flagship initiative—the cutting-edge AI architecture codenamed "Project Genesis"—citing an "unsatisfactory return on R&D investment."

My heart skipped a beat.

In our past life, it was this very "Project Genesis" that cemented Julian's dominant status in the global tech sphere.

It was his life's work, and his sharpest weapon.

Ethan had clearly caught on to its immense value. He wasn't looking to review it; he was looking to steal it.

"I agree to the audit."

To everyone's shock, Julian was the first to speak, his expression calm and unbothered.

Ethan was startled, but quickly smirked. "I'm glad to see Director Vance being so reasonable. In three days, I will lead the audit team myself to review all raw, core data behind Project Genesis."

He deliberately emphasized the words "core data," the naked greed in his eyes impossible to hide.

After the meeting adjourned, Julian's team was in a state of panic.

Everyone knew Ethan was coming to sabotage them.

When I tracked down Julian, he was casually debugging code in the server room, as if nothing had happened.

"You're not worried?" I asked.

He looked up at me, his gaze deep and calm. "Worried about what? That he'll steal what's mine?"

A faint smirk touched his lips. "If he wants to take it, he needs to prove he has the capability first."

Three days later, the audit meeting convened right on schedule.

Flanked by his technical cronies, Ethan strolled into the R&D department's secured conference room with the swagger of a conqueror.

He had already planted an insider on Julian's team. An hour before the meeting, that mole had secretly forwarded the core source code of Project Genesis to Ethan's private email.

Now, all Ethan had to do was wait for the right moment to publicly accuse Julian of "gross negligence resulting in a catastrophic data breach," giving him the perfect excuse to seize full control of the project.

Halfway through the presentation, Ethan decided his moment had arrived.

He cleared his throat, cut Julian off mid-sentence, and slammed a folder onto the conference table.

"Director Vance, let's cut the fancy promises. Regarding the severe leak of Project Genesis's core proprietary data, what exactly is your explanation?"

The room erupted in whispers.

Every pair of eyes landed on Julian.

Julian didn't even spare the file a glance. Instead, he looked straight at me.

Catching his cue, I slowly rose from my seat, wearing an impeccably measured smile.