Chapter 13 - Halcyon
The forensic report on Halcyon Data Partners arrived four days later.
It was worse than anyone expected.
Matthew had incorporated Halcyon fourteen months earlier through a law firm in Nevada.
Its ownership traced through two holding companies before ending with a trust controlled by him.
Over eleven months, NexusCore employees working under direct instructions from Matthew copied portions of customer data into a separate environment.
Most of those employees believed they were participating in an internal migration project.
They were not.
Halcyon had also prepared sales decks.
Pricing models.
A hiring plan.
A confidential list of NexusCore engineers Matthew intended to recruit.
And an investor presentation.
The presentation described Halcyon as a "next-generation enterprise intelligence platform built by the visionary team behind NexusCore."
I stared at the page.
"He was going to compete with his own company."
Daniel Cho nodded through the video call.
"After Axion."
"Why wait?"
"Because the acquisition would have increased NexusCore's debt significantly."
Henry answered.
"He may have expected the integration to fail."
My father understood first.
"He wanted the company weakened."
Daniel nodded.
"Then he could leave."
"And take clients."
"Potentially."
I looked at the investor presentation.
A list of targeted clients filled one slide.
Eight were current NexusCore customers.
"He was going to destroy it."
Daniel's face looked tired.
"At minimum, he was creating an option that would benefit him personally at the company's expense."
I laughed bitterly.
"Henry has trained you too."
Daniel almost smiled.
"He has."
Then his expression became serious.
"Clare, there's something else."
"What?"
"Halcyon's technical documentation references Northstar architecture."
The room went silent.
I looked at Henry.
"So he was planning to use my patents."
"Without authorization."
My hands became cold.
"Can he?"
"No."
"Did he?"
"We need to determine whether any code was actually deployed."
Daniel shared another document.
"One contractor built a prototype."
Henry leaned toward the screen.
"Using which repository?"
"An export from NexusCore."
My father stood.
"That's enough."
Henry raised a hand.
"Enough for what?"
"Terminate the license."
"No."
My father stared at him.
"No?"
Henry turned to me.
"Clare owns Northstar."
"She decides."
Everyone looked at me.
For seven years, men had made decisions around me.
For me.
About me.
Matthew.
The board.
Even my father when he believed he was protecting me.
Now a room full of powerful people waited.
"What happens if I terminate NexusCore's license today?"
Daniel answered carefully.
"It would create operational risk."
"To employees?"
"Yes."
"Customers?"
"Potentially."
"Investors?"
"Definitely."
I nodded.
"Then we don't."
My father frowned.
"Clare."
"I am not destroying thousands of people's jobs because Matthew tried to steal from me."
I looked at Daniel.
"Can Northstar issue a notice of breach without terminating?"
Henry nodded.
"Yes."
"Then do that."
"What cure period?"
"Whatever the contract requires."
"Thirty days."
"Fine."
"And I want the board notified that continued licensing will depend on removing every person involved in Halcyon misconduct."
Daniel nodded slowly.
"That will help stabilize employees."
"Good."
My father studied me.
"What?"
He shook his head.
"Nothing."
"Say it."
A faint smile appeared.
"You sound like a founder."
May you like
I looked back at the screen.
For the first time in years, that word did not hurt.
