Chapter 4
My father didn't shout when Claire started crying.
He simply sat down.
For nearly a minute, nobody spoke.
I stood beside the security computer, staring at the paused recording of Trevor leaving my bedroom.
His hand was still visible near his jacket pocket.
My missing flash drive was probably inside it.
Eight months of work.
Gone.
And the people who had taken it were standing in my living room.
Finally, Dad looked at Claire.
"Who authorized you to use information from my company?"
Claire wiped her face.
"Daniel, you're misunderstanding."
He shook his head.
"Then help me understand."
She took a trembling breath.
"Robert asked me to help with a consulting project."
"What project?"
"Water monitoring."
Dad's expression hardened.
"For the city?"
She nodded.
I watched his hands slowly tighten.
"And you didn't think to tell me?"
Claire looked away.
"I didn't know you were bidding."
Dad stared at her.
I knew that wasn't true.
He had talked about the city contract for weeks.
He'd mentioned it during dinner.
He'd explained why the project mattered.
He wanted to help neighborhoods detect unsafe water conditions before they became emergencies.
Claire had listened to those conversations.
Sometimes she'd asked questions.
Now I understood why.
Dad seemed to reach the same conclusion.
"You knew."
Claire began shaking her head.
"No."
"Claire."
She started crying harder.
"I was trying to build something of my own!"
Dad's expression changed.
"I have never stopped you from working."
She looked up angrily.
"You don't understand what it's like being married to you!"
He stared.
She continued.
"Everyone talks about Daniel Carter. Daniel's company. Daniel's inventions. Daniel's success."
Her voice rose.
"And I'm always just your wife!"
I stood frozen.
Dad took a slow breath.
"Claire, your success doesn't require taking from my son."
She looked at me.
For a moment, her face twisted with resentment.
"Michael gets everything from you."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
She pointed at Dad.
"Your attention. Your money. Your time."
Dad stood.
"Stop."
But Claire continued.
"Every conversation comes back to Michael. His grades. His future. His projects."
I felt something inside me shrink.
For months, I'd sensed Claire disliked how close Dad and I were.
Whenever we worked in the garage together, she found reasons to interrupt.
If Dad attended my science events, she complained that Maya needed more attention.
If he bought equipment for my projects, she reminded him Maya wanted expensive clothes.
I thought she was simply struggling to adjust.
Now I saw something uglier.
She considered me competition.
Dad looked at her.
"Michael is my child."
Claire crossed her arms.
"And Maya is mine."
He nodded.
"Exactly. They're children, Claire. They aren't competing with us."
Maya covered her face.
Then whispered, "Mom, stop."
Claire turned.
"What?"
Maya looked terrified.
"Please."
I could see she knew more.
Dad noticed too.
He crouched beside her.
"Maya, listen carefully."
She lowered her hands.
"You're not responsible for protecting adults who make bad decisions."
She began crying.
Dad continued.
"But you are responsible for telling the truth about what you did."
Maya nodded.
"Okay."
He asked gently, "Did Trevor take Michael's project?"
"Yes."
I felt my chest tighten.
"Did you know he planned to take it?"
She hesitated.
Then nodded.
I looked away.
The admission hurt even though I already suspected it.
Dad took another breath.
"Why did you accuse Michael of grabbing you?"
Maya began sobbing.
"Because Mom said he'd blame me."
Claire jumped up.
"That's not what happened!"
Maya shook her head.
"You said if he found out, he'd tell Dad and ruin everything!"
Dad stared at Claire.
She looked trapped.
Maya continued.
"When Michael wouldn't give me his phone, I panicked."
I remembered the scene in my bedroom.
Her demands.
Her shouting.
The sudden accusation.
I felt sick.
Dad looked at Maya.
"Did Claire tell you to say Michael touched you?"
Maya hesitated.
"No."
I looked up.
She wiped her face.
"I said it myself."
For a moment, Claire looked relieved.
Then Maya continued.
"But Mom told me not to admit I lied."
That relief disappeared.
Dad slowly stood.
He looked at Claire for a long time.
Then he said, "You need to leave tonight."
Claire stared.
"What?"
"I won't have Michael living in a house where he's afraid of being falsely accused or physically hurt."
She started crying.
"Daniel, we're married!"
"I know."
"You can't just throw us out!"
Dad's voice remained steady.
"I'm asking you to stay elsewhere while we get professional advice and decide how to proceed safely."
Maya looked frightened.
"Where will we go?"
Dad turned toward her.
His expression softened.
"You'll have somewhere safe to stay, Maya."
He looked back at Claire.
"But this conversation is not finished."
Claire sank onto the sofa.
I watched her cry.
A small part of me felt sorry for her.
Then I touched my cheek.
The tenderness reminded me why Dad was making this decision.
He called his attorney.
Then he contacted Trevor's father.
Robert Collins answered after several rings.
I couldn't hear every word.
But I heard Dad say, "Your son entered my house without permission and appears to have taken my son's intellectual property."
There was a pause.
Then Dad's expression changed.
"What do you mean, you already have the files?"
My heart stopped.
Dad stood completely still.
Robert continued speaking.
Then Dad said, "Do not distribute or use them. Preserve everything. My attorney will contact you."
He ended the call.
I stared at him.
"Dad?"
He looked exhausted.
"Robert says Trevor gave him a copy of the project."
I felt sick.
"Why?"
Dad swallowed.
"He claims he believed it was a collaborative student design."
I shook my head.
"That's a lie."
"I know."
Then Dad added, "Robert says Claire told him you agreed to share the work."
I stared at my stepmother.
She covered her face.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
She had represented my work as something I willingly gave away.
And when I discovered the theft, she allowed her daughter to accuse me of something terrible.
My father looked toward the computer.
"We're preserving every recording."
He then called a lawyer who specialized in business disputes and intellectual property.
I watched him speak quietly.
He explained the missing flash drive.
The competition.
The city contract.
The security footage.
When he ended the call, he turned toward me.
"Michael, we're going to protect your work."
I nodded.
But my voice broke.
"What if Trevor already submitted it?"
Dad's expression darkened.
"Then we'll establish what belongs to you."
I looked at him.
"How?"
He glanced toward my desk upstairs.
"You kept development notes, didn't you?"
I nodded.
"Every week."
"Test results?"
"Yes."
"Earlier files?"
"On my laptop."
He placed his hand on my shoulder.
"Then your work has a history."
I breathed out slowly.
For the first time that afternoon, I felt a little hope.
But it disappeared when Dad's phone rang again.
This time, it was his company's chief engineer.
I watched his expression change as he listened.
Then he whispered, "What?"
He turned away.
I heard the words "confidential specifications."
Then "Collins Technology."
Then "urgent review."
When Dad ended the call, his face was pale.
I stepped closer.
"Dad, what's wrong?"
He looked at Claire.
Then back at me.
"Someone sent parts of my company's confidential proposal to Robert Collins."
I stared at him.
He swallowed.
"And the access records point to our home network."
Claire stopped crying.
Dad looked directly at her.
"Claire, what else have you taken from this family?"
She opened her mouth.
But before she answered, Maya whispered something that silenced us all.
"Mom has a second laptop."
I turned toward her.
May you like
She looked at the floor.
"And she keeps it locked in the closet."
