The money had passed through three shell companies.
The registered address of one was connected to Reed's private law office.
Sloan stared at the screen.
"How?"
Bennett leaned forward.
"Follow the money."
She did.
The deeper they looked, the worse it became.
Finally, Sloan closed her laptop.
"Why did you dress like that?"
Bennett looked at her.
"What?"
"Last night."
"My clothes?"
"Yes."
"Because they're mine."
"You could afford anything."
"I know."
"Then why?"
Bennett leaned against the table.
"After my wife died, I raised my daughter alone."
Sloan became quiet.
"I built my company while raising her. I learned very quickly that money can solve problems, but it can also attract people who stop seeing you as a person."
He touched the sleeve of his old jacket.
"This jacket was with me when my company was failing."
He smiled faintly.
"The truck carried my daughter to school."
"She knows you're wealthy?"
"She knows I worked hard."
"And you still drive that truck?"
"It still works."
Sloan looked down.
"I thought you were poor."
"You thought."
"I never said you were unemployed."
"No."
"Or helpless."
"No."
She swallowed.
"I filled in the blanks."
"Yes."
"With the worst possible assumptions."
Bennett nodded.
Sloan's voice became smaller.
"Did you test me?"
"No."
"You're sure?"
"I didn't arrange our dinner. I didn't tell you I was poor. I didn't ask you to judge me."
She looked away.
"You simply did."
That was the truth.
And Sloan finally had no argument against it.
The Lie Inside the Machine
The investigation might have continued quietly if the plant alarm had not sounded.
It happened at 2:17 p.m.
A sharp warning echoed through the facility.
Then another.
Marshall looked at the control panel.
"Cooling system."
Sloan ran toward the control room.
"What happened?"
"Pressure rising."
"Backup?"
"Offline."
Sloan stared at the screen.
"Why?"
"I don't know."
Below them, engineers rushed toward the mechanical bay.
The prototype engine was undergoing a $200 million test.
A major client was watching.
Federal observers were present.
If the prototype failed, Whitaker Aero Systems could lose the largest contract in its history.
Reed appeared on the emergency channel.
"Evacuate the plant."
Sloan picked up the radio.
"Not yet."
"We have a malfunction."
"No."
"What?"
"Backup systems don't fail simultaneously."
She pulled up the network logs.
Someone had remotely disabled them.
"This was triggered."
Bennett entered the control room.
"How long?"
"Twelve minutes."
"Until?"
"Permanent prototype damage."
Bennett looked at the mechanical schematics.
"I'll go down."
"I'll coordinate here."
They separated.
Bennett reached the mechanical bay with Marshall.
Sloan searched old records.
Something bothered her.
A forgotten reference in the original plant design.
She found it.
An old cooling pathway.
Removed from the modern schematic.
But physically still present.
"Marshall!"
His radio crackled.
"What?"
"There's an old bypass."
"Where?"
"North wall. Behind the secondary valve assembly."
Bennett found it.
The valve was covered in dust.
"Is this operational?"
"It should be."
"Should?"
Sloan checked the paper archives.
"Yes."
She found a pressure specification.
"Twelve minutes."
Bennett understood.
"That's exactly what we need."
He and Marshall opened the valve manually.
For several terrifying seconds, nothing happened.
Then the temperature began to fall.
Sloan watched the gauge.
"Come on."
The number dropped.
The prototype survived.
The test continued.
Output was slightly reduced, but all safety requirements were met.
The client did not cancel the contract.
Afterward, Marshall found a small remote-access device inside the control cabinet.
Bennett examined it.
"Someone installed this."
Sloan arrived.
"Can we trace it?"
"Maybe."
Before they could continue, Reed held a press conference.
He accused Bennett of staging the failure.
"He has a financial interest in destabilizing the company," Reed told reporters.
Sloan watched the broadcast in disbelief.
"He knows."
Bennett nodded.
"He knows we're close."
That night, Graham suffered a mild heart episode.
Sloan sat beside his hospital bed.
Her father looked exhausted.
"I should have seen it," she whispered.
Graham opened his eyes.
"Seen what?"
"Reed."
Graham sighed.
"You're not the only one who trusted him."
"But I'm supposed to lead."
"Not yet."
Sloan looked down.
"I thought I knew what leadership was."
Her father squeezed her hand.
"You knew how to win."
He paused.
"That's not always the same thing."
Outside the hospital room, Bennett stood silently.
Sloan noticed him.
"Why are you here?"
"Graham is my friend."
She looked at him.
"After everything?"
"Especially after everything."
She lowered her eyes.
"I don't deserve your help."
"Maybe."
He paused.
"But the company deserves it."
The Choice
Graham was ordered to remain in the hospital.
That left Sloan alone.
Reed called an emergency board session.