Chapter 4

"If I go to court, what will happen?" I asked Anthony.

He replied, "If you win, they'll have to stop using your patents and compensate you for damages, including any reasonable expenses you had to cover."

"How much would the compensation be?"

"By patent law, the payout is based on what you actually lost." Anthony locked eyes with me. "Your patents are the backbone of the company. Without them, their whole business will fall apart."

"So?"

"So, the compensation could be off the charts."

I nodded. "Let's take them to court."

Anthony was a bit taken aback. "Aren't you thinking about settling?"

"No."

"Ms. Nolan, you've been married to Howard for eight years—"

"He's my ex-husband," I cut him off. "We're divorced now."

Anthony paused in silence for a few seconds. "Alright." He snapped the folder shut. "Let's get the lawsuit paperwork started."

"Mr. Mason."

"Yes?"

"I've got one more question."

"Please go ahead."

"What will happen if they lose the lawsuit but refuse to pay the compensation?"

He looked at me with a flicker of surprise in his eyes. "If they refuse to comply, the court can enforce the judgment by freezing their accounts, seizing their assets, or possibly going after them for criminal charges."

"What if he's broke?"

"Then they'll have to declare bankruptcy and liquidate." Anthony paused for a moment. "But Ms. Nolan, may I ask what your real goal here is?"

"My goal?"

"Yeah. Is it all about the money, or," Anthony paused to consider the wording and said, "is there something else behind it?"

I thought it over. "Mr. Mason, for every single line of code of that system I built eight years ago, I pulled all-nighters to make it happen."

"I know."

"Every single one of those seven patents is the result of my great efforts."

"I know."

"But for eight years, everyone gave Howard all the credit. He was always the one getting the awards and doing the interviews. And finally, he is playing the role of a successful entrepreneur."

"I understand that."

"But what about me?" I laughed, a little bitter. "I was the woman stuck in his shadow, the clueless techie who didn't understand business, and his ugly wife who only knew how to write a few lines of code."

Anthony didn't say anything.

"When he cheated, he said it was because I wasn't good enough." I stood up and walked over to the window. "And when he divorced me, he said I could do nothing."

Outside, the street was packed with cars, and the sunlight was bright enough to hurt my eyes.

"Mr. Mason, this lawsuit isn't about the money." I turned to face him. "I want everyone to know that from day one, this company has thrived on my tech."

*****

On the fifth day after the divorce, Anthony called me. "Ms. Nolan, the lawsuit has officially been filed."

"Okay, thanks," I replied.

"The court has accepted it. I'll text you the case number."

"Okay."

"Besides," Anthony paused for a while and said, "Howard should be getting the summons any minute now."

I hung up and went back to packing.

At three in the afternoon, my phone rang. It was Howard. "Sarah, are you out of your mind?" His voice was shrill and cracking.

I held the phone away from my ear. "What's up?"

"You sued me? You sued the company for patent infringement?"

"Exactly."

"Are you out of your damn mind?"

"Howard, watch your mouth."

"Screw that." Howard's voice went higher. "Do you know what you're doing? You're going to destroy the company. You're going to ruin me."

"I'm taking back what belongs to me."