Chapter 8 - The Investor With Two FacesThe man Naomi trusted was already inside the story
Naomi left the hotel without saying goodbye.
She drove straight to Mitchell's office.
He looked up when she entered.
“You found him.”
“The photo?”
Mitchell's expression changed.
“Yes.”
“You knew Richard.”
Mitchell slowly closed his laptop.
“I did.”
“You met Arthur.”
“Yes.”
“You met my son.”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me.”
“I didn't know how.”
Naomi placed the photograph on the desk.
“What were you doing with them?”
Mitchell sighed.
“Trying to protect Richard.”
“From what?”
“Arthur.”
“Why?”
“Because Northstar wanted the technology before it existed.”
Naomi stared.
Mitchell explained.
“Richard contacted me after he saw what you were building.”
“He didn't tell me.”
“He didn't want you dragged into it.”
“You both made that decision.”
“Yes.”
“And failed.”
“Yes.”
Naomi looked at him.
“Why did you invest in Clear Path?”
“Because Richard asked me to.”
Her chest tightened.
“When?”
“Months before he died.”
“Why?”
“He told me your idea mattered.”
“He thought you could help.”
Mitchell nodded.
“But there was a problem.”
“What?”
“Arthur already knew about the prototype.”
“How?”
“Scott.”
Naomi's heart dropped.
“My son was a child.”
“No.”
“He wasn't involved.”
“Not intentionally.”
Mitchell opened a file.
“Scott used to visit Richard's workshop.”
Naomi frowned.
“He was sixteen.”
“He liked computers.”
“What did he do?”
“Nothing criminal.”
Mitchell pushed a page across the desk.
A log.
An old system.
User access.
Scott's name.
Date.
Time.
Naomi stared.
“What did he access?”
“An early simulation.”
“Did he download anything?”
“No.”
“Then why does this matter?”
“Because the simulation was later recreated at Northstar.”
Naomi felt sick.
“My son didn't know.”
“I know.”
“Who had access through him?”
Mitchell hesitated.
“Arthur.”
Naomi closed her eyes.
Pieces connected.
Scott had been a doorway without knowing it.
Lauren had become another.
Arthur had spent years building routes into Naomi's work through the people she loved.
And Naomi had interpreted every family incident separately.
Christmas.
Money.
Questions.
Richard's claim.
None of them were separate.
They were pieces of one long operation.
Naomi stood.
“Why did you wait until now?”
“Because I needed proof.”
“You had nine years.”
“I had fragments.”
“And now?”
“Now Meridian's legal team found the link.”
Naomi looked at him.
“So the buyer isn't just buying Clear Path.”
“No.”
“What are they buying?”
Mitchell's voice lowered.
“Protection.”
“From Northstar?”
“Yes.”
Naomi looked at the acquisition document.
“Would Meridian walk?”
“They might.”
“Then why are they still here?”
“Because the company has something Northstar never built.”
“What?”
Mitchell smiled faintly.
“Trust.”
Naomi almost laughed.
“Trust?”
“Teachers trust the system.”
“That's enough to pay $184 million?”
“No.”
He paused.
“They're paying because Clear Path changed outcomes without turning students into products.”
Naomi looked away.
That sentence mattered more than the money.
Then Mitchell said:
“But there is another problem.”
“Of course.”
“The nine-figure price isn't final.”
Naomi turned.
“What?”
“It's contingent.”
“On what?”
“The historical claim.”
Naomi's face hardened.
“So Northstar can attack the deal.”
“Yes.”
“Unless we prove Richard didn't own the methodology.”
“Correct.”
“And if he did have a contribution?”
“We'd need to establish the precise chain of development.”
Naomi thought of the notebook.
The USB.
The letter.
Then she remembered something.
The sentence on Richard's video.
I don't know which one.
“What if Richard didn't name Arthur because he didn't know who was helping him?”
Mitchell looked at her.
“That's possible.”
“What if the person helping Northstar was someone else?”
Mitchell's expression changed.
Naomi saw it.
“You know something.”
“No.”
“You just reacted.”
He remained silent.
Naomi leaned over the desk.
“Who?”
Mitchell slowly exhaled.
“There was one person besides Richard who saw the original prototype before the first pilot.”
“Who?”
“Your former principal.”
Naomi frowned.
“Dr. Helen Ward?”
“Yes.”
“She retired before I did.”
“She also joined Northstar's advisory board.”
Naomi stared.
“That can't be coincidence.”
“It isn't.”
Before she could respond, Mitchell's phone buzzed.
He read the message.
Then looked up.
“Meridian just sent the closing notice.”
Naomi's heart lifted.
“Good.”
Mitchell shook his head.
“No.”
He turned the screen toward her.
The message contained only one sentence.
CLOSING SUSPENDED PENDING DISCOVERY OF ADDITIONAL FAMILY COMMUNICATIONS.
Naomi stared.
“What additional communications?”
Mitchell scrolled.
An attachment appeared.
One email.
Sender:
Scott Mercer.
Recipient:
Arthur Bell.
Date:
Two weeks before Christmas.
May you like
Subject:
Mom doesn't know yet.
Related Stories
