Chapter 5 - Celeste Demands Answers From the Uninvited Corporate Representative
Arthur Vance yanked his hand back as if the elevator sensor had bitten him like a poisonous snake.
He spun around to face Celeste Larkin, his corporate veneer completely shredded by panic and fury.
“You cannot detain me here! This is illegal imprisonment!” Arthur shouted, his voice echoing off the glass.
“This is a private residence, Arthur, and my security team controls the perimeter gates downstairs,” Celeste reminded him.
“You aren't leaving until you explain why my daughter’s rehabilitation machine was manufactured with a structural defect.”
Arthur sneered, his mask of polite corporate diplomacy slipping away to reveal a desperate bureaucrat.
“Defect? Veyron’s engineering standards are certified by independent international safety boards!”
“Then explain the identical inspection reports signed by your own hand over a four-month period,” Celeste challenged.
She pulled the tablet from the glass table, stepping forward until she was standing inches from Arthur’s chest.
“Four different dates. Four different technicians listed. Exactly the same diagnostic numbers down to the decimal.”
Arthur looked at the screen, swallowed hard, and tried to find words that would not incriminate him further.
“Software templates... sometimes the reporting software auto-populates legacy fields during routine database migrations.”
“Software doesn't scratch titanium housing from the inside out,” Boone called out from the service alcove.
Arthur glared past Celeste toward the mechanic, his eyes burning with genuine, unadulterated hatred.
“Shut your mouth, grease-monkey! You don't know the first thing about biomedical robotic tolerances!”
“I know when a thrust bearing is installed backward,” Boone replied smoothly, leaning against the kitchen counter.
“And I know that when you install a thrust bearing backward, it grinds the housing down until it fails.”
Piper’s breath hitched in her throat as the mechanical explanation finally connected all the dots.
“That... that’s what felt like something pulling sideways,” Piper whispered, her voice shaking slightly.
Everyone in the room went silent as Piper looked directly at Arthur Vance.
“Every time I tried to step forward on my right leg, the joint twisted my knee out of alignment.”
Arthur looked away, unable to meet the gaze of the young woman whose recovery he had quietly sabotaged.
“That’s an exaggeration of normal muscle adaptation resistance,” Arthur muttered defensively.
Celeste didn't raise her voice.
She didn't scream.
She simply reached into the pocket of her cream blazer and pulled out a sleek silver smartphone.
“My general counsel is currently filing an emergency motion for a federal seizure warrant at the district court,” Celeste said.
“By noon, every manufacturing log, internal email, and engineering memo at Veyron will belong to my lawyers.”
Arthur’s face drained of every last trace of color, turning the sickly shade of old parchment paper.
“Ms. Larkin... let’s not be hasty; litigation will destroy public confidence in the entire adaptive robotics division.”
“Litigation?” Celeste smiled, a terrifying expression that had terrified Wall Street executives for decades.
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“Arthur, litigation is what happens when people disagree over money. What I am planning is corporate execution.”
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