Chapter 6 - THE VIDEO THAT WENT TO NOVA TECH
Before I could respond, venue security approached.
The slap had been captured by at least twelve phones.
One guest was already uploading it.
Olivia realized the room had seen her.
She began crying harder.
“I am under pressure.”
My mother rushed to her.
Dad turned toward me.
“You should leave before this becomes worse.”
Ethan reached us.
“No.”
His voice was firm.
“Olivia needs to step away.”
Olivia stared at him.
“You are taking her side?”
“There should not be sides after you hit someone.”
“She ruined everything.”
“You lied about your family’s finances.”
“You let your parents use stolen money for this wedding.”
“You told me Maya dropped out of school.”
Olivia wiped her face.
“That is what Dad said.”
“You never asked her?”
“She never speaks to me.”
I almost laughed.
Olivia had blocked my number six months earlier after I refused to design her wedding website for free.
Ethan looked toward me.
“I am sorry.”
“You do not owe me an apology.”
“Yes.”
He looked at my sister.
“I do.”
“I believed what she told me without asking.”
That was more accountability than anyone in my family had shown.
The event coordinator escorted Olivia into a private lounge.
My parents followed.
Ethan remained near me.
“I did not know about the trust.”
“I believe you.”
“I also did not know my father had not approved the investment.”
“I believe that too.”
He looked toward David.
“I should have asked.”
David answered calmly.
“You should have.”
No one rescued Ethan from his mistake.
No one called the truth cruel.
I respected that.
My phone began vibrating repeatedly.
Messages appeared from coworkers.
Maya, are you okay?
Is that your family?
A video of Olivia slapping me had reached social media.
The caption identified me as Nova Tech’s newly appointed Lead Architect.
I had not announced the promotion publicly.
Someone had found my professional profile.
Within twenty minutes, the video had thousands of views.
Then another post appeared.
It included the confrontation from the foyer.
My father threatening to stop paying tuition.
Me announcing I had graduated.
David confirming my role.
The internet loved a perfect humiliation story.
My private life had become entertainment before the first dance.
Nova Tech’s chief operating officer called.
Her name was Priya Shah.
“Maya, are you safe?”
“Yes.”
“Do you need company security?”
“No.”
“There is another issue.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“Your father contacted our corporate office.”
“When?”
“Ten minutes ago.”
“He claimed you obtained your position by stealing proprietary code from Monroe Analytics.”
I closed my eyes.
He had moved quickly.
“What code?”
“He sent a formal notice threatening litigation.”
“Priya, the medical platform was built from Nova’s internal research.”
“I know.”
“So does our legal team.”
“But because your father’s company is currently under acquisition review, we need full disclosure of any prior access you had.”
“I never worked for Monroe Analytics.”
“Did you ever enter their systems?”
“No.”
“Did you use a family computer?”
“When I was in high school.”
Priya paused.
“Our security team found something strange.”
“What?”
“A portion of Monroe Analytics’ newest product contains code copied from one of your Northwestern research projects.”
The accusation had reversed.
My father was claiming I stole from him.
But his company had used my work.
“When was the product released?” I asked.
“Four months ago.”
My research had been published under an academic license one year earlier.
Commercial use required attribution and permission.
Monroe Analytics had neither.
Priya continued.
“We believe your father’s company copied your architecture to increase its valuation before approaching Hale Capital.”
May you like
The wedding was not only supposed to secure money.
It was supposed to connect my father to investors before anyone discovered his company’s most valuable technology belonged to me.
