She stepped closer to Nathan, her boots crunching on a plastic toy block.

“Do you really think you can win this, Nathan?” she asked.

“You are one man in a blizzard.”

“The roads are blocked.”

“No one is coming to save you.”

“I don’t need saving,” Nathan said.

“But you do.”

“You’ve committed multiple federal offenses.”

Vanessa laughed, a high, mocking sound.

“Who is going to tell them?” she asked.

“We have the legal rights to the Caldwell patent pending.”

“We will tie you up in court for years.”

“By the time you get out, your company will be ours.”

Suddenly, the lights in the playroom flickered and died.

The green emergency units went dark, plunging the room into shadows.

Only the blue light of the tablet screen illuminated Vanessa’s face.

A low hum started to vibrate through the walls of the mansion.

On the wall-mounted monitors, a circular loading icon appeared.

Then, the face of Claire Caldwell flickered onto the screens.

It was a high-definition digital rendering, but it looked incredibly real.

“Security protocol active,” Claire’s digital voice spoke from the room’s speakers.