Chapter 2 – The Secret Buried Inside the Investment
The envelope contained hundreds of pages.
Contracts.
Emails.
Financial records.
Jasmine's hands trembled as she flipped through them.
"What is all this?"
Professor Simmons answered quietly.
"Eight years ago, you developed the foundation of Taylor Shield while finishing your graduate research."
Jasmine nodded.
"I remember."
"You also signed a temporary research licensing agreement."
"I know."
"You never realized Richard Caldwell quietly purchased that agreement through three shell companies."
Jasmine froze.
Professor Simmons continued.
"He didn't discover your company eight months ago."
"He discovered you years ago."
Every guest listened in stunned silence.
"He monitored every improvement you made."
"He waited until your software became valuable."
"Then he appeared as your rescuer."
Richard finally stepped forward.
"That's business."
"No," Eleanor replied.
"That's manipulation."
She removed another document.
"The wedding wasn't about love."
"It was about ownership."
Jasmine quickly found the final page.
Her wedding contract.
Buried between dozens of legal clauses.
One sentence caught her eye.
Upon marriage, all future cybersecurity patents developed by Jasmine Taylor would automatically transfer into a jointly managed corporate holding controlled by Caldwell Technologies.
Her knees nearly gave way.
"He planned to take Taylor Shield..."
"...using our marriage."
Richard didn't deny it.
Instead, he smiled again.
"You would've been wealthy."
"I would've made you famous."
Jasmine looked at him with complete disbelief.
"You never loved me."
"I admired your talent."
"And your children?"
"They complicated the arrangement."
Zayn quietly buried his face against his mother's gown.
Zoe stepped in front of him.
"We're not baggage."
Richard said nothing.
Because there was nothing left to say.
Just then, another voice echoed through the ballroom.
"I believe the police would like to discuss those contracts."
Two detectives walked through the open doors.
Behind them came agents from the financial crimes division.
One held a warrant.
May you like
Another carried handcuffs.
Richard's confidence disappeared for the first time.
