?Chapter 505:

    “Looks like this one’s a tough nut to crack,” Shaun said gently. “It’s okay if you can’t figure it out. Actually—” he paused, “I’ve got another idea.”

    Ste nced over. “What is it?”

    Shaun exined, “This tech setup… it’s really simr to a project you worked on before. The base code’s practically the same. If you’re okay with it, maybe you couldpare yours with ours?”

    He looked sincerepletely focused on solving the issue.

    Ste was thrown for a second. She had noticed the simrities, but the deeper sections of the code were different.

    Still, the original framework was hers. Her tech. Protected by copyright. If she handed it over, and anything leaked, it’d be on her.

    Shaun caught the hesitation on her face.

    “Syl, don’t you trust me?” he asked, softer now. “I’d never use your work the wrong way. This is just about fixing the system. We’ve known each other for a long time—you know I’m not that guy.”

    There was a flicker of hurt in his expression. “I thought we were past this. That we trusted each other by now. I didn’t think you’d still be this guarded.” He let out a quiet sigh. “But hey, if you’re notfortable, I get it. We’ll figure something else out.”

    Ste stood there, torn, her mind spinning as Shaun’s words sank in.

    But just as he turned to walk away, she called out, “Okay, fine. I’ll upload my tech code.”

    Shaun stopped in his tracks, his face lighting up like a kid unwrapping presents on Christmas morning. He shot her a big grin. “Syl, thanks for trusting me!”

    Ste gave him a faint smile. “That’s what friends do, right?” Helping a friend—that was all this was. Besides, it wasn’t like handing over her code was some huge deal.

    She kept everything stored on a password-protected USB she carried everywhere.

    She plugged it into the Smith Group’sputer andbed through every file with care. Still nothing. No glitches, no bugs. Nothing stood out.

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    Frustrated, she nced over at Shaun, who lingered nearby. With a sigh, she yanked the USB out.

    “Mr. Smith,” she said quietly, “I’m sorry. I don’t think I can help with this.” The disappointment was clear in her eyes. She genuinely thought she’d let him down.

    Then—p. Shaun pped his hands once, loud and sharp. Out of nowhere, two tall men burst into the office.

    Before Ste could react, they seized her arms and mmed her face-first onto the desk.

    Shaun strolled up, calm as ever, a smug smirk spreading across his face. “Syl, you really outdid yourself this time.”

    Ste’s heart dropped. With her USB now in his hands, Shaun could ess every system tied to that code.

    The realization hit her hard. Her voice shook. “What are you talking about? Why are you doing this?”

    Shaun spun theputer screen toward her. Code flickered on the monitor like some twisted sci-fi scene.

    “I’ve got all your tech now, Syl. This? This is mine.”

    Ste froze, the weight of his betrayal mming into her. “You used me… You nned this from the start—all just to steal my core tech?”

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