I am not a lawyer and none of this is legal advice. That being said, as long as you have been doing what you've been directed to do, doing it to a professional

I am not a lawyer and none of this is legal advice. That being said, as long as you have been doing what you've been directed to do, doing it to a professional standard, and have a paper trail to demonstrate that, it's unclear what grounds they would have for legal action against you. I would recommend, if you have not been doing so already, having periodic meetings with your supervisor to request feedback. This will help document that your work was satisfactory. Re: referrals, I would give that up as a lost cause. If nobody cares what you are doing, they are not going to give you a referral. Re: talking to the CEO, I would recommend do that but _only_ when you've got everything lined up to find a new job and not one second before. It's a high-risk tactic that may simply leave you working under a (now angry) supervisor or, since by your own words, they have no need for you, out of a job. In the meantime, put in your 40 hours a week building the app skeleton, use what opportunities you can to learn new technologies and build a portfolio, and, as I said, prepare to find a new job.