Chapter 2: Patterns of Suspicion
The moments that followed felt hollow and razor-sharp. Anna’s mind—trained to identify danger in boardrooms and balance sheets—absorbed the image on the wall with brutal clarity. This wasn’t coincidence. It couldn’t be.
“Security,” Anna said softly, her tone lethal. She didn’t raise her voice. She tapped the intercom on her desk. “Security to the sixtieth floor, executive suite. Now.”
Luis went ashen. “Ms. Vance, please… she’s just drawing! It’s just… patterns! She likes patterns!”
“Don’t lie to me,” Anna snapped, eyes locked on the wall. Maya continued, oblivious, her hand moving with eerie precision that sent a chill through Anna’s skin. “Where did she see this? Who showed this to you? Who do you work for?”
“Work for? I work for you! For the cleaning company!” Luis shook, hands raised as if facing a weapon. “I swear to God, I know nothing. She… she is especial. She sees things. Numbers, puzzles. On the bus, the advertisements. Here, the… the computers.”
Two broad-shouldered guards rushed in, led by Harris, the head of security—a man who relished authority. His eyes swept the scene: the powerful CEO, the terrified janitor, the small girl marking the wall.
“Ms. Vance? Is there a problem?” Harris asked.
“This man,” Anna said, pointing at Luis, “is to be detained. His daughter has reproduced proprietary code. This is corporate espionage.”
“Espionage?” Luis’s voice broke. “No! It’s a mistake! Maya, ven, baby, come here!”
As the guards stepped forward, Maya startled. She dropped the marker—it clattered loudly—and scrambled beneath Anna’s desk, curling into herself, trying to disappear. But the code remained, glowing starkly under the lights.
“Take him,” Anna said, her expression sealed.
“Wait, Anna… you can’t be serious.”
The voice came from the doorway. Derek Shaw—lead engineer and former protégé—stood there. A shark in a cashmere sweater, eternally tan and ambitious. He must have been working late in the lab. “You’re calling security on a janitor?”
“This ‘janitor’s’ daughter just reconstructed the core of Section 4,” Anna replied coldly, not turning. “Explain that, Derek.”
Derek stepped closer, eyes widening as he studied the wall. He let out a low whistle. “Well, I’ll be damned… That’s… that’s not just the architecture, Anna. That’s the optimization we were working on. The one we couldn’t crack.” He glanced from the glass to the trembling man. “Holy smokes.”
