“That is key.”
He pulled up schematic.
“Proper command should reduce torque.”
“Activate hazards.”
“Keep steering and braking.”
“Then shut engine once speed drops below ten.”
“My car died at seventy-two.”
He looked at her.
“Then someone modified firmware.”
“Could your security team?”
“Maybe.”
“Could you?”
“Yes.”
The honesty caught her.
He continued.
“Anyone with source.”
“Who had source?”
“Meridian.”
“Then your company after acquisition.”
“Which division acquired Meridian?”
The CEO answered:
“Advanced Security Systems.”
“Who controlled it?”
She knew.
The chairman had chaired integration committee.
The father looked at her face.
“There it is.”
She said:
“Do not look pleased.”
“I’m not.”
He opened another file.
A memo.
PROGRAM TERMINATED — ETHICAL AND LIABILITY CONCERNS
Signed by him and three engineers.
The CEO read.
“You opposed it.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Remote disable authority.”
“Credential abuse.”
“If system got compromised, whoever held key could immobilize anyone.”
“Meridian wanted to add biometric driver lockout.”
“I said no.”
“What happened?”
“They killed program.”
“Then sold company two years later.”
“To us.”
“Yes.”
The CEO scrolled.
“Did you destroy prototypes?”
“I supervised sixteen.”
“What about rest?”
“Security division took eight for evaluation.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“You signed transfer?”
He searched.
Found form.
The receiving party:
Corporate Protective Technologies Evaluation Group.
The CEO’s company.
Eleven years earlier.
The father sat back.
“So your company had them before acquisition closed.”
“That is impossible.”
“Apparently not.”
She looked at the date.
Three months before public announcement.
Confidential pre-close technology evaluation.
Board-level authorization.
Signature.
The chairman.
Again.
The CEO whispered a curse.
The daughter appeared in doorway.
“Am I allowed to know now?”
The father looked.
“No.”
The child groaned.