Story code: ST-001251
Part 4: The System Crash
The marimba ringtone echoed across the backyard. Kevin lunged toward me, his hand outstretched to grab my pocket, but I took three quick steps backward, pulling the cheap burner phone out into plain view. The name “Chloe” flashed on the cracked screen.
“Give that to me, Jenna!” Kevin barked, his voice rising. The sudden panic in his tone drew the attention of everyone on the patio. Brenda set the pitcher of iced tea down with a sharp clink, while Marcus stepped down from the deck, his eyes locked on the scuffed device in my hand.
“What is that, Kevin?” Brenda asked, stepping forward to defend her son. “Jenna, stop playing games and give your husband his phone.”
“It’s not his phone,” I said, holding the screen out so Marcus could see the incoming call and the preview of the text messages still sitting on the lock screen. “At least, not the one he wants any of us to know about.”
Marcus reached out and took the burner phone from my hand. He swiped the screen, scrolling through the text threads. His face hardened. He stopped, looking up at Kevin with a mixture of disgust and disbelief.
“Marcus, don’t look at that,” Kevin snapped, his voice cracking as he reached for the device. “It’s private business. She’s trying to manipulate you.”
“Private business?” Marcus said, his voice flat. He turned the screen toward Brenda. “He’s moving the company assets to a private account under Chloe’s name, Mom. He’s trying to leave Jenna with all the debt while he moves into a condo downtown.”
Brenda took the phone, her eyes widening as she read the messages. The smug expression she had worn all afternoon completely vanished, replaced by a tense, frozen silence. She looked at Kevin, then down at the phone, unable to say a word.
Before Kevin could utter another lie, his primary business phone began to vibrate violently in his hand. A series of high-priority alert tones pinged in rapid succession. He looked down at his screen, his jaw dropping.
“What… what did you do?” Kevin whispered, looking up at me, his face devoid of color. “The server is down. The API is returning a 503 error. Jenna, what did you do to the database?”
“I took it offline,” I said, packing my tablet into my bag. “Since you took away my access to pay the invoice, I decided to terminate the service instances entirely. The investors’ demo is in twenty minutes, Kevin. I suggest you explain to them why your application no longer exists.”
“Are you insane?” Kevin yelled, taking a step toward me. “You just destroyed the company!”
“No, I protected my equity,” I replied, looking him dead in the eye. “The system is shut down, and the root access credentials have been transferred to an offline key. You have no application, no investors, and no waiver.”
Kevin looked around the yard, his hands shaking as he tried to find support. But Brenda wouldn’t meet his eyes, stepping back toward the house. Marcus simply shook his head, tossed the burner phone onto the grass at Kevin’s feet, and walked away. The rest of the relatives stood in stunned, absolute silence, staring at the ground or turning back to the house to avoid the fallout.
I walked down the driveway, leaving Kevin standing alone next to the SUV, frantically typing on a phone that could no longer connect to anything. I pulled out my own personal phone, booked a ride home using my personal credit card, and never looked back.