Chapter 5 - THE PRICE OF FAMILY

Alex called his mother.

No answer.

Again.

Nothing.

He called his father.

Straight to voicemail.

Maya drove.

Faster than Alex had ever seen her drive.

“What if they're already there?” Noah asked.

Alex turned toward him.

“Don't.”

“I'm asking because we need a plan.”

“My plan is getting to my parents.”

“And if Meridian is waiting?”

Alex didn't answer.

Noah leaned back.

“Exactly.”

Maya spoke.

“We call the police before we arrive.”

“With what?” Alex snapped. “A kidnapping we can't prove? A document from an attorney who just betrayed us?”

“With a gunshot through my rear window.”

That shut him up.

They called.

Then kept driving.

Alex's parents lived forty minutes outside the city.

They arrived in twenty-seven.

Two police cars were parked outside.

Alex nearly collapsed with relief.

Then he saw an ambulance.

He was out of the SUV before it stopped.

“Dad!”

His mother appeared at the front door.

“Alex?”

He grabbed her.

“Where's Dad?”

“In the ambulance.”

“What happened?”

“He collapsed.”

Alex's stomach dropped.

A paramedic came toward them.

“Mr. Carter?”

“Yes.”

“Your father is conscious. We're transporting him as a precaution.”

Alex looked toward the house.

Front door open.

“What happened before he collapsed?”

His mother hesitated.

“A man came by.”

Alex went cold.

“What man?”

“He said he worked for you.”

“What did he want?”

“He asked for a box.”

Noah stepped closer.

“What box?”

His mother looked confused.

“The things Alex left here after college.”

Alex's mind raced.

Old computers.

Notebooks.

Prototype hardware.

Then he remembered.

His first Lattice server.

A cheap mini-PC he'd built in college.

It contained early versions of the code.

But that wasn't why Meridian wanted it.

During development, Alex had created automatic off-site snapshots.

He had forgotten about them years ago.

“Mom.”

“Yes?”

“Did Dad give him anything?”

“No.”

Alex exhaled.

Then she said:

“I did.”

His relief vanished.

“What?”

“He knew exactly what he wanted.”

“What did you give him?”

“The little black computer.”

Noah muttered:

“Oh, God.”

Alex closed his eyes.

His mother looked terrified.

“Alex, what is happening?”

He couldn't tell her.

Not yet.

The paramedics loaded his father into the ambulance.

One of the officers approached.

“Mr. Carter, your mother said the visitor identified himself as Meridian Global security.”

“Yes.”

“You know him?”

“No.”

The officer held something up.

A business card.

Victor Hale.

Alex stared.

Victor himself had come.

Not an employee.

Not hired security.

Victor.

Which meant whatever was inside that old computer mattered enormously.

Maya grabbed Alex's arm.

“We need to leave.”

“Why?”

“Because that machine doesn't just contain old backups.”

Alex turned.

She looked sick.

“What else?”

“Do you remember the original Lattice authentication model?”

Alex nodded.

“Barely.”

“You built your developer credentials into the hardware.”

“That was years ago.”

“Exactly.”

Alex understood.

The old machine contained cryptographic keys tied directly to him.

Noah finished the thought.

“If Victor has that server, he can make anything he does look like you did it.”

Alex stared at the empty driveway.

The trap suddenly became clear.

They weren't merely planning to kill him.

They were preparing to destroy his reputation first.

His phone buzzed.

Financial news alert.

BREAKING: LATTICE FOUNDER ALEX CARTER UNDER INTERNAL INVESTIGATION OVER POSSIBLE DATA MISUSE

Another alert appeared seconds later.

MERIDIAN GLOBAL CONFIRMS “SERIOUS IRREGULARITIES” DISCOVERED AFTER ACQUISITION

Alex's mother stared at him.

“What does that mean?”

Alex didn't answer.

A third notification appeared.

This one from his bank.

ACCOUNT ACCESS TEMPORARILY RESTRICTED.

Thirty-eight million dollars.

Frozen.

Maya looked at him.

“They just took away your money.”

Noah shook his head.

“No.”

“They took away his credibility.”

Alex's phone rang.

Victor Hale.

Alex answered.

“You went to my parents' house.”

Victor sounded relaxed.

“You should have given me the drive.”

“You're framing me.”

“I am protecting my company.”

“You tried to kill me.”

“Prove it.”

Alex said nothing.

Victor continued.

“By tomorrow morning, Alex, every person who congratulated you this week will believe you committed fraud.”

“What do you want?”

Victor laughed softly.

“There you are.”

“What do you want?”

“The fourth copy.”

“And then?”

“Then you disappear.”

Alex froze.

Victor corrected himself.

“From public life.”

But they both knew what he meant.

Alex looked toward Maya.

Then Noah.

Then his frightened mother.

And something inside him settled.

For the first time since this began, Alex stopped trying to escape.

“Victor?”

“Yes?”

“You made one mistake.”

“What?”

“You bought my company.”

Alex ended the call.

Maya stared at him.

“What does that mean?”

Alex looked toward the city skyline.

“It means he thinks he owns Lattice.”

A slow smile appeared on his face.

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