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| TWENTY |

The Ambush

he rental house Tyler Shultz shared with five roommates in Los
Altos Hills was only a twenty-five-minute drive from his
parents’ home in Los Gatos, so he tried to have dinner with
them about once every other week. Early on the evening of May 27,
2015, Tyler eased his little Toyota Prius C into his parents’ garage and
entered the house through the kitchen. When he caught sight of his
father, he immediately sensed that something was wrong. His face was
a mask of worry and panic.

“Have you been speaking to an investigative journalist about
Theranos?” his father asked accusingly.

“Yes,” Tyler responded.
“Are you kidding me? How stupid could you be? Well, they know.”
Tyler learned that his grandfather had just called to say that
Theranos was aware he was in contact with a Wall Street Journal
reporter. If he wanted to get out of what George had described as “a
world of trouble,” he would need to meet with the company’s lawyers
the next day to sign something.

Tyler called his grandfather back and asked if the two of them could
get together later that night without any lawyers. George said he and
Charlotte were out to dinner but should be home by nine and Tyler
could come by then. Tyler sat down for a quick meal with his parents,
then headed home to think through how he would approach the
conversation with his grandfather. His mother and father gave him big
hugs as he headed out the door.