"If I don't, I lose everything," Hayes finished bitterly. He looked at Khloe, his eyes burning with a mixture of hatred and reluctant awe. "You planned this perfectly."
"I had three years to prepare," Khloe said softly. "While I was working double shifts to pay off my father's medical debts. While I was standing over his grave, wondering how a man could be so brilliant and still lose to a thief in a tailored suit."
Hayes clenched his jaw. He looked at Arthur, who gave him a desperate, pleading nod. There was no other way out.
With a trembling hand, Hayes reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a heavy gold Montblanc pen. He didn't read the document; he just flipped to the last page and signed his name with vicious, jagged strokes.
"Transfer the funds, David," Hayes commanded, his voice dead.
David immediately opened his laptop, fingers flying across the keyboard. Within two minutes, he hit the final authorization. "Wire transfer complete. The escrow account has received the funds. It's done."
Khloe pulled a small encrypted USB drive from her pocket and dropped it on the table. "The master authentication key is on that drive. Plug it into your server, and the code is yours. It will run flawlessly."
She picked up the signed contract, folded it neatly, and placed it back into her pocket.
Hayes sat back in the booth, looking like a man who had just aged ten years in ten minutes. "You know, Miss Bennett," he said quietly, "you could have come to work for me. With a mind like yours, I would have made you a partner. We could have ruled the defense sector."
Khloe looked down at him, her expression a mask of pure pity. "I don't want to rule your sector, Mr. Hayes. I just wanted my father's life back. But since I can't have that, I'll settle for your money."
She untied the apron from her waist and let it fall to the floor. She didn't look back at the booth, nor did she say goodbye to the manager staring in shock from the kitchen door.
Khloe Bennett simply turned around and walked out of the diner, stepping into the freezing, crisp air of the city—carrying $100 million and the peace of a debt finally paid.