“We have a deal to make,” I said, closing the door behind me.

“I told you my terms,” Elias said. “Two million, and you walk away.”

“The terms have changed,” I said.

I walked over to the desk and took a deep breath.

“I know what Daniel is doing,” I said. “And I know how to stop him.”

Elias set his glass down on the desk with a soft clink.

“I’m listening,” he said.

“But it’s going to cost you more than two million,” I said.

He smiled, a cold, humorless curve of his lips.

“You’re negotiating now?”

“I am,” I said. “And you are going to listen.”

I took a step closer, my wet boots leaving dark prints on his expensive rug.

“I want my father’s patents,” I said.

Elias’s smile vanished.

His eyes turned to ice.

“Those patents are the foundation of this company’s entire software suite,” Elias said.

“I know,” I said. “And they were stolen from him.”

“Your father sold them to us,” Elias said. “Legally.”

“He was coerced, and you know it,” I said. “You and Daniel set him up.”