After the Fall A Leap into a Stranger's Arms novel Chapter 346

Waldo glared at her, his disgust obvious. He didn’t say another word to Shirley. Instead, he turned to Ted. “Talk to her. We have to protect The James Group’s interests.”

Right then, Waldo truly couldn’t stand to look at Shirley anymore. His face was dark, almost stormy, as he walked out of the room.

Left behind, Ted sat with Shirley and walked her through what to say next. He coached her on how to stand up for herself, how to claim her rights, and most importantly, how not to let Catherine win.

While The James Group scrambled, their nerves frayed and arguments flying, things felt much calmer over in the Nexus Dynamics waiting room.

The ten-minute break ended quickly, and everyone filed back into the courtroom.

This time, Ted had switched up his approach. He didn’t bother denying the video anymore. Instead, he started steering the conversation toward Shirley’s research on Resonance AI after the fact.

“We admit Shirley made some mistakes. She was only nineteen, young and headstrong. A little reckless, maybe, but it didn’t lead to any real harm.”

He spent the next ten minutes laying out how Shirley and her team had developed Resonance AI, carefully avoiding any mention of the USB drive.

On the other side, Terrance stood. “Then maybe Shirley can tell us exactly what was on that USB drive? I mean, if she went through all that trouble to get it, she must have looked at it.”

By now, Shirley had regained her composure. As long as Waldo was on her side, she felt sure she could win. She didn’t believe Catherine could have any more evidence.

Technology cases like this were notoriously tough. The code was so complex that even the judge probably couldn’t make sense of it all.

“I did look at the USB drive, but it was just regular files,” Shirley said, brushing the question off. “I didn’t really go through it. I was busy with school back then. I didn’t have time for that stuff.”

“So, is your Resonance AI based on the framework from that USB drive?” Terrance pressed.

Was Catherine really trying to take all the credit? Did she think she could win without doing the real work?

Catherine watched as Shirley’s face lost some color. She smiled, confident. “I still have a sample, you know. Want to take a look?”

“Catherine, stop trying to insult me. Do you really think I need your ideas? In tech, it’s normal for people to have similar research. It happens all the time,” Shirley shot back, twisting the truth.

“Oh, really? Then why don’t you show us your original diagrams and designs? I’m sure everyone here knows enough to spot a copy,” Catherine challenged.

A flicker of panic crossed Shirley’s eyes, but she forced a cold smirk. “No way. That’s our most important project at The James Group. I’m not showing it to anyone. I can’t agree to that.”

The real reason was simple. Shirley hadn’t changed a single line of code. She’d used Catherine’s original work, word for word.