Inside 374


    This usation was just outright ridiculous.


    Ariel frowned and scrolled down through thements. Not all of them were friendly.


    Faye Technologies was definitely under a wave of negative bacsh.


    She was surprised at how sudden it all was.


    “What did Veyo say? Have they contacted us yet?” Ariel asked calmly after a moment of thought.


    Chad tapped the table, thinking. “Not yet. But they can’t possibly be clueless about this. Something’s got to be done. Faye Tech isn’t taking the fall for a setup like this.”


    Ariel agreed.


    Her flight control system carried serious weight in the domestic market. Any scandal now could shake Faye Technologies‘ reputation badly.


    She made a swift decision. Her expression hardened as she said, “Chad, get on the phone with Veyo. Arrange to meet with that engineer.”


    This was a tant attempt to frame them.


    Chad nodded.


    He had Nancy’s number, so he dialed her directly.


    She didn’t deliberately avoid the call or cause any trouble. Instead, she picked up promptly. “Mr. Hockney, I’m aware of the situation. What are your thoughts?”


    Chad nced at Ariel. “This isn’t something to take lightly, Ms. Stanton. We talk about this face–to–face. I imagine you’re as surprised as I am. After all, this engineer works for yourpany. If there’s foul y, you’d share some responsibility, wouldn’t you?”


    Nancy stayed calm. “Naturally. We understand the stakes. Let’s meet at 3:00 pmter.”


    “No problem.”


    Chad quickly organized a statement and assigned Janice to handle its release. The only thing they could do now was stabilize the situation.


    At 3:00 pm, Chad and Ariel arrived at the meeting spot.


    Nancy was there, seated beside a foreign man.


    When Nancy saw Chad, she nodded coolly.


    The incident at the research institute and the final exam rankings from not long ago appeared to have beenpletely forgotten, as if they never happened.


    She didn’t even nce at Ariel, who came along with Chad, and spoke only to thetter. “Mr. Hockney, this is Terrance Harper, an engineer from Veyo and the victim in this matter.”


    Ariel’s lips curled with icy sarcasm at the word victim.


    Chad eyed Terrance as well. Once seated, he gave a half–smile. “Ms. Stanton, judging by your choice of words, you


    seem to have already drawn your conclusion.”


    Smiling, Nancy crossed her legs. “Apologies, Mr. Hockney. I’m as surprised as you are. Nobody wants this to happen. But Terrance ims he can provide evidence.


    “He wrote a rted technical proposal two years ago and still has it saved in his email,plete with timestamps. He says part of his code oveps with some key features of Faye Tech’s new flight control system.


    “Using reverse engineering and technical analysis, we found that a small portion of Faye Tech’s code matches the functions and logic in Terrance’s proposal. So naturally, he’s raising concerns.”


    “Cut to the chase. What do you want?” Ariel leaned back in her chair. Her gaze was calm, but her lips dripped with


    scorn.


    Nancy finally looked over at her. “If the giarism im is true, then of course Faye Tech would have to… have its patent revoked.”