The Transactional Marriage That Imploded novel Chapter 93

The representative from the Patent Office rigidly declined. "I am under no obligation to disclose that information. This is an official notice. You have fifteen days to submit evidence proving your innocence. If you fail to do so, your patent will be revoked, and the decision will be made public."

Bianca's scalp prickled with tension. "Understood. Please email me the evidence the whistleblower submitted so I can start gathering my defense."

When the email arrived, Bianca read it meticulously. The accuser claimed her source code was stolen, citing a timestamp from a cloud server that predated her patent filing by exactly one month.

Who could possibly have this level of intimate access to her work?

When she initially filed the patent, she hadn't even told Mathis.

The mystery was maddening. She immediately dialed Hector Goodwin. "Mr. Goodwin, do you handle patent law?"

"I know my way around it," Hector replied. "Divorce is my bread and butter, but I'm versatile."

He was bordering on arrogant, but she was grateful he was on her side.

"I'm sending you some files," Bianca said. "Can you figure out which scumbag is trying to ruin me?"

"Do you have a suspect in mind?"

Bianca didn't hesitate. "I'm ninety-nine percent sure it's Mathis."

Hector was completely baffled. "The patent is literally named after him. Could he really be that ruthless?"

Despite having handled countless messy divorces, Hector had never encountered a man quite as unhinged as Mathis. Usually, men fought divorce settlements to protect their assets. But Bianca wasn't asking for a single dime of his fortune.

Given how publicly Mathis was parading his mistress around, shouldn't he be the one desperately rushing to finalize the divorce so he could legitimize his new family?

Milo sounded thoroughly disgusted. "Is he psychotic? He's practically shoving the Quinn woman down the public's throat, but he still won't leave you alone? Does he want a harem?"

Bianca shook her head. "I have no idea what goes on in his head. He plays the devoted partner in public but refuses to sign the divorce papers. It leaves me entirely paralyzed. I've asked for a divorce multiple times, and he just won't do it. I need you to find someone to track his movements."

Milo gasped. "Wait, you aren't trying to put a hit out on him, are you?! We're not in the Wild West, Bianca! I don't have those kinds of connections, and even if I did, we'd both go down for it. Think this through!"

Bianca couldn't help but marvel at his wild imagination. "I'm not trying to kill him. I know my limits. I analyzed how the news was suppressed today. If a story gains enough momentum, Mathis's PR team won't be able to scrub it instantly.

"So, the next time he flies back to Kingsbridge City, I need you to hire PR bots to leak the truth about our marriage while he's completely unreachable in the air.

"I can't be the one to do it. We have a toxic prenuptial agreement, and I'd be hit with massive financial penalties. But he's actively collaborating with the Quinn family now. If the public finds out he's married, he'll be forced to give the Quinns an explanation. He'll have no choice but to divorce me. I'll cover all the expenses for the bots."