Chapter 3 - The Boardroom and the Cradle
Three days later, the quiet foothills of Boulder offered no peace from the earthquake that had just hit Jason Sterling’s life.
Back in North Carolina, the board of Sterling Clean Energy was in a state of quiet panic. For the past week, stock prices had begun a slow, steady slide following rumors of an intellectual property audit filed by a mysterious independent patent holding company called Veritas Green.
What the board didn't know—and what Jason was just discovering as he sat at the head of the mahogany conference table in his temporary Denver office—was that Veritas Green wasn't a corporate rival.
It was my company.
The core technology behind Sterling’s multi-billion-dollar valuation—the high-efficiency solar turbine that had made Jason a household name—was built on a patented thermodynamic algorithm that bore my maiden name on the original filings. During our rushed, bitter divorce, Jason’s high-priced lawyers had forced me to sign away my operational rights, but they had overlooked a critical international patent clause protecting independent academic research.
The door to the office pushed open without a knock.
Jason looked up, his face hollow, dark circles bruised beneath his eyes. He hadn't slept in seventy-two hours.
His chief legal counsel, Arthur Vance, stepped inside, carrying a thick leather binder.
“Mr. Sterling,” Arthur said cautiously, clearing his throat. “We have a problem with the Colorado subsidiary.”
“What kind of problem?” Jason’s voice was dead, devoid of its usual corporate sharpness.
“It’s not just a patent infringement claim,” Arthur murmured, sliding a legal brief across the desk. “The primary stakeholder holding the controlling shares of the underlying energy grid infrastructure... is Claire Sterling.”
Jason stared at the document. The name leaped off the page like fire.
“She doesn't just want a settlement, Jason,” Arthur continued, adjusting his glasses. “She’s calling for a complete structural audit of the company’s assets. If she proves that the original acquisition of her research was tainted by fraudulent misrepresentation during our 2021 divorce proceedings... the entire company goes into receivership.”
A bitter, humorless laugh escaped Jason’s lips. He leaned back in his leather chair, running both hands over his face.
She hadn't just disappeared. She had built an empire of her own, waiting patiently for the exact moment when the foundation of his success would intersect with the truth of her survival.
“Set up a meeting,” Jason said quietly.
May you like
“With the board?”
“No,” Jason replied, his jaw tightening into a hard, unyielding line. “With my wife.”
