After the Fall A Leap into a Stranger's Arms novel Chapter 251

“Shirley, someone used the university’s special access today to pull surveillance footage from the lab building. The footage is from six years ago. I remember you spent a lot of time working there back then. Did you maybe leave something behind?” Jackson sounded genuinely concerned.

Shirley’s face went ghostly pale. Her grip on the phone loosened as if her strength had vanished.

Someone was looking into the lab’s security footage from six years ago? What for? Was it connected to Resonance AI?

“Hey, Shirley, are you still listening?” Jackson’s voice snapped her back.

“Really? Jackson, do you know who’s investigating this?”

“I saw him. Young guy, Asian, probably your age. I assumed he was part of your team.”

“Jackson, could you help me find out exactly what he’s looking for?”

“I heard he asked to borrow footage from our physics lab. That camera covers your lab’s main entrance too.”

Shirley’s mind went totally blank. Panic washed over her as she tried to picture the physics lab camera’s angle.

It could definitely catch the door to the computer science lab. Dread curled in her stomach.

“Thanks, Jackson. He’s not with my team.”

“Oh, good. That’s a relief.”

They chatted a little longer before hanging up. Shirley slumped into her chair, feeling like all the air had left her, her breath coming in shaky bursts.

Who would want those tapes from six years ago?

Was it really the original owner of Resonance AI, searching for that lost flash drive?

Were they trying to find out who went into the lab after they left?

If this investigation led to her, Shirley could already feel cold sweat trickling down her spine.

Waldo frowned. “What is it now? Is there still no fix for the Resonance AI bug?”

Shirley swallowed, leaning forward with her hands pressed to his desk. “It’s about the truth behind Resonance AI. I need to tell you everything.”

Waldo leaned back in his chair. “The truth? What truth?”

So Shirley told him. She explained how she’d really gotten the original version of Resonance AI six years ago. She held nothing back.

Waldo shot to his feet, staring at her in disbelief. “What did you just say? You’re not the developer of Resonance AI? You stole someone else’s work?”

Shirley’s face burned, her whole body rigid under the intensity of his glare. She felt exposed, judged, like everyone could see her shame.

“Everything I did, I did for you, Waldo. I took the risk because I believed in you.”

“Are you out of your mind? Why didn’t you tell me from the start? If Resonance AI gets us sued, we’re done for. You committed theft and intellectual property fraud. That’s a serious crime. My company has banked everything on this project, and now you tell me you don’t even own it? Are you trying to ruin me?”