“Without them, the stock is worthless.”

I reached down and slid the blue binder across the polished table.

It stopped right in front of him.

“Open it, Victor,” I said.

Victor looked at the blue vinyl, then up at me.

He tried to reach for it, but his chains restricted his movement.

His attorney, Ross, reached over and flipped the binder open for him.

Ross turned to the first page.

I watched the attorney’s face pale as he read the document.

His eyes widened, and he quickly flipped to the signature page at the back.

“What is it, Ross?” Victor muttered, leaning forward. “What does it say?”

“It is the original patent filing for the Core-six engine,” Ross whispered.

“It is registered under Claire Vance.”

“Sole ownership.”

Victor stared at the paper.

“That is impossible,” he said, his voice rising.

“We transferred that to Hayes Development in 2014.”

“You transferred the marketing license, Victor,” Evelyn said, sliding a second document forward.

“Not the patent itself.”

“The license expired last month due to non-payment of royalties by your shell company.”

“The core technology belongs entirely to Claire.”