Mara found a forwarded attachment in a shared folder: her old module summary, sent to an unfamiliar address. She brought it to Ethan without drama. Ethan’s face hardened. “That wasn’t supposed to leave,” he said, and for once, he sounded more like her.
Ethan reached out to another founder in Victor’s network and asked blunt questions. The founder hesitated, then warned him in a tired voice. “Victor funds, then digs,” the man said. “If he can copy you, he will. If you fight him, he will bury you.”