Chapter 7
I was at Dr. Bennett's house twenty minutes later.
He lived in a quiet neighborhood outside the city.
His wife, Eleanor, answered the door.
She looked worried.
"Cedric, what's happened?"
"Is Dr. Bennett home?"
She nodded.
"He's in his study."
I explained the warning as carefully as I could.
Her expression changed.
She immediately called her husband.
He emerged carrying a book.
When he saw my face, he put it down.
"What is it, son?"
I told him everything.
Xavier.
The agreement.
The threats.
Naomi's warning.
Dr. Bennett listened in silence.
Then he asked, "Have you reported this to the police?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good."
He looked toward Eleanor.
"Let's make sure all the doors are locked."
She nodded and went to check.
Dr. Bennett invited me into his study.
The walls were covered with photographs.
Graduating classes.
Former students.
Family portraits.
On one shelf stood a small framed picture of a younger Dr. Bennett beside my father.
I stopped.
"Wait."
He followed my eyes.
"Ah."
I picked up the photograph.
"You knew my dad?"
He smiled sadly.
"For almost twenty years."
I stared at him.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I assumed he had."
I shook my head.
Dr. Bennett sat down.
"Your father helped me with several university engineering projects. Whenever our students needed a practical solution, Samuel was the man I called."
I looked at the photograph.
My father was wearing his old blue work shirt.
His hands were covered in grease.
He was smiling.
Dr. Bennett continued.
"He had extraordinary mechanical instincts."
I felt my throat tighten.
"He never told me he worked with the university."
"Your father wasn't interested in recognition."
That sounded exactly like him.
Dr. Bennett leaned forward.
"Do you know why I took your prototype seriously the first time I saw it?"
I shook my head.
"Because I recognized the thinking behind it."
I looked at him.
"Your father once showed me sketches for an emergency braking concept. Nothing finished. Just an idea."
My eyes widened.
"He did?"
"He said he hoped you would someday improve it."
I sat slowly.
Dr. Bennett smiled.
"And you did."
I looked down at my hands.
For years, I had believed I was trying to prove myself.
Now I understood something different.
I had been continuing a conversation my father started long before his death.
Dr. Bennett stood.
He opened a cabinet and removed an envelope.
"I was going to give you this after the acquisition meeting."
He handed it to me.
Inside was a photograph.
My father standing beside a teenage version of me.
I was holding a crude metal prototype.
On the back, my father had written:
MY SON IS GOING TO BUILD SOMETHING THAT SAVES LIVES.
I pressed my lips together.
Tears blurred the photograph.
Dr. Bennett rested his hand on my shoulder.
"He believed in you, Cedric."
I nodded.
"I know."
For a while, neither of us spoke.
Then my phone rang.
Angela.
I answered.
"Hello?"
"Cedric, I just spoke with the detective assigned to your case."
My stomach tightened.
"What happened?"
"Naomi has agreed to meet investigators."
I stood.
"Where?"
"At the police station."
"When?"
"Tomorrow morning."
I looked at Dr. Bennett.
Angela continued.
"She also provided a recording to her own attorney, who arranged for it to be submitted."
"What does it contain?"
"According to the attorney, Xavier discussing the altered agreement and his efforts to pressure you into sharing ownership."
I closed my eyes.
Finally.
Something concrete.
"But Cedric," Angela added, "there's more."
I opened my eyes.
"What?"
"Xavier apparently planned to use the disputed ownership claim to obtain emergency financing."
I frowned.
"From whom?"
"Private lenders."
"How much?"
"Close to six million dollars."
I sat back down.
Six million dollars.
He wasn't only trying to steal my invention.
He was trying to borrow money against it before he even owned it.
Dr. Bennett shook his head when I explained.
"Reckless," he said.
Angela continued.
"That may explain the urgency and intimidation."
I swallowed.
"What happens next?"
"The authorities will evaluate the evidence. Meanwhile, we're pursuing protective steps concerning your intellectual property and the threats."
I nodded.
For the first time, I felt the situation might actually be moving toward an end.
The next morning, I went to Angela's office.
She had arranged for me to meet Naomi briefly in a conference room, with counsel present.
When Naomi entered, I barely recognized her.
Her braids were pulled into a loose bun.
She wore simple black pants and a gray blouse.
Dark circles surrounded her eyes.
She looked exhausted.
"Cedric," she whispered.
I said nothing.
She sat across from me.
Her attorney remained near the door.
Angela sat beside me.
Naomi looked down.
"I don't know how to begin."
I folded my hands.
"Try the truth."
She started crying.
I waited.
Finally, she spoke.
"I was jealous of you."
I stared.
"What?"
She wiped her eyes.
"I spent years working toward my doctorate. I thought once I graduated, everyone would respect me."
I said nothing.
"But every time I saw you working on that invention, I felt afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
"That you would succeed without needing a degree."
I felt something inside me go still.
She continued.
"I couldn't stand the thought that you might accomplish something bigger than I did."
I leaned back.
All those dismissive comments.
All the jokes about my garage.
The way she never celebrated my progress.
Suddenly, they made sense.
"You were ashamed of me," I said.
She lowered her head.
"Yes."
The word landed heavily.
No excuses.
No comforting explanation.
Just yes.
I stared at her.
"And Xavier?"
She wiped her face.
"He made me feel important."
I swallowed.
"He made you feel rich."
She didn't deny it.
"He told me you were holding me back. He said I deserved a better life."
"And you believed him."
"Yes."
I looked away.
Naomi began crying harder.
"When he found out about your design, everything changed."
I turned back.
"What changed?"
"He started asking questions. He wanted the files. He wanted to know whether you'd filed a patent."
I felt sick.
"He told me if we controlled the invention, we could build a company."
"We?"
She nodded.
"I thought he wanted to build something with me."
"And what did he actually want?"
"Money."
Her voice cracked.
"He had debts. Investors were demanding repayment. He thought your invention could save him."
I studied her.
"Why did you help him alter that agreement?"
She covered her face.
"Because I was greedy."
The room became silent.
"I thought I could take part of what you'd built and still walk away from you."
I felt my chest ache.
She looked at me.
"I know how terrible that sounds."
"It sounds honest."
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry, Cedric."
I looked at the woman I'd once planned to marry.
I had imagined this moment for days.
Imagined her begging.
Imagined myself shouting.
But now I felt strangely calm.
"I believe you're sorry," I said.
Her eyes lifted.
Hope flashed across her face.
I continued.
"But being sorry doesn't undo what you did."
She started shaking.
"I know."
"You didn't just break my heart."
My voice cracked.
"You used my love to take things I can never get back."
She lowered her head.
"I know."
I breathed slowly.
"I forgive you for hurting me."
Her eyes widened.
"But I won't trust you again."
She began sobbing.
I stood.
"I hope you tell the investigators everything."
She nodded.
"I will."
I turned toward the door.
Then she called my name.
"Cedric?"
I stopped.
"Yes?"
"Did you ever really believe I loved you?"
I looked back.
For a moment, I remembered seven years of ordinary happiness.
Laughing while cooking dinner.
Dancing in our small kitchen.
Falling asleep on the couch.
I swallowed.
"I believed it enough to give you everything I had."
She covered her mouth.
I opened the door.
And walked away.
As I reached the hallway, Angela's phone rang.
She answered.
Her expression changed.
"What do you mean he's gone?"
My stomach tightened.
She listened.
Then looked at me.
"Xavier missed an interview with investigators."
I stared.
Angela continued listening.
Finally, she ended the call.
"They located his SUV near the airport."
I felt cold.
"Did he leave the country?"
"They don't know yet."
I looked toward the conference room where Naomi remained.
Then Angela added the detail that changed everything.
"Before he disappeared, Xavier withdrew a large amount of money from one of his accounts."
I swallowed.
"How much?"
"Nearly two hundred thousand dollars."
"And?"
May you like
Angela looked directly at me.
"His last confirmed destination was the road leading toward your old garage."
