One of the bodyguards stepped forward and reached out to pull my mother’s oxygen tube.

I felt enraged. I lunged forward but was pinned down firmly by the other guards.

Joy watched me with calm composure.

“You want to leave? Fine! But before you go, hand over the new product’s core parameters.”

“That’s my own independent research. Why should I give it to you?” I said through gritted teeth.

In the face of a threat to my mother’s life, all my resistance crumbled.

I had no choice but to give them the password to the folder containing the parameters.

After she got what she wanted, Joy looked satisfied and gestured for the bodyguards to retreat. But she did not seem to want to leave yet.

I glared at her, trying to suppress my fury.

“You got what you wanted! What more do you want?”

Just then, the hospital room door pushed open.

Dale emerged with an undisguised smugness on his face.

Joy linked her arm with his and said sharply, “Because of your petty public scene over that bonus, Dale has had to put up with colleagues whispering behind his back for days. They say he doesn’t deserve his position, and it’s been weighing on him.

“A simple apology from you would be far too lenient. Dale, tell me, how should we punish him?”

Dale understood. He stepped forward, spread his legs, and pointed between his legs.

“Charles, crawl through here, and we’re square. I’ll consider the matter settled.”

When I saw Dale’s smug, gloating expression, I clenched my fists.

“What’s the matter? Don’t want to do it?”

Joy raised an eyebrow.

“It looks like you don’t care that much about your mother’s life, after all.”

I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down.

My pride was nothing compared to my mother’s life.

Slowly, I crouched down. Under their scornful gazes, I lowered myself bit by bit.

As I crawled between Dale’s legs, he deliberately lowered his body and whispered, “Charles, you don’t know this yet, do you? Joy said I’ll take all the credit for this launch.

“Pretty soon, everything you have will be mine.”

After enjoying my humiliation, the two smiled and strutted out of the ward with their heads held high.

I slowly stood up with a cold smirk.

In three days, it would not just be his “lucky day” for the product launch, but also the day the core patents under my name were released to the public for free.

I could not help but feel a little excited.

It would be quite a sight to see Joy’s face when she realized all her investments had gone to waste.

...

On the day of the new product launch, the venue was filled with a distinguished crowd.

Dale stood under the spotlight and spoke with glib confidence.

He was presenting the very proposal I had poured my heart and soul into.

Applause broke out periodically from the crowd.

I stood in an inconspicuous corner of the hall and watched him with an icy gaze.

At one point, Joy deliberately walked over to me, arm-in-arm with Dale.

“See? The company runs just fine without you. You think you’re far more important than you actually are.

“If you get down on your knees and beg, I might let you come back. You can work under Dale. I could even pay you $1,000 a month.”

Just as they were reveling in their moment, a sudden commotion arose at the entrance of the venue.

Several staff members from the Intellectual Property Office walked straight in.

“Ms. Zimmer, we have just received an official notice. All core patents related to the technology for the product that Zimmer Group is launching today have been made public and freely accessible as of midnight.

“No organization or individual may claim exclusive use or derive profit from these now-public patents.

“This launch event is to be terminated immediately. Any products based on these patents are prohibited from being sold.”

The previously noisy venue fell silent in an instant. All eyes were fixed on Joy.