Chapter 115

No.1

At ten o'clock sharp, the joint Al medical symposium officially commenced in the chalet's second-floor conference room.

The room was a masterpiece of modern architecture. Three walls were made of frameless glass, offering a blinding view of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains. The fourth wall was a massive digital projection screen, currently displaying the complex, glowing neural network architecture of Project Chiron.

Allena sat in a plush leather swivel chair near the head of the long mahogany table. She was still wearing her ridiculous white mink ski suit, looking like a lost reality TV star surrounded by doctors in tailored suits.

She had just finished a ten-minute opening monologue. It was a disaster of medical jargon,completely devoid of logic, mixing up basic cellular structures with machine learning terms. Yet,when she finished, the JHU team clapped enthusiastically, terrified of offending the billionaire's mistress.

Elisa sat at the very end of the table, as far away from Allena as physically possible. She kept her head down, her fingers flying across the glass screen of her encrypted tablet, completely ignoring the circus.

Allena soaked up the applause. She leaned back in her chair, a smug smile stretching across her face.

No.2

"And that is exactly why," Allena announced, her voice pitching higher to ensure everyone heard,"I am currently using my private network to reach out to the legendary Al architect, Faye."⑤

Allena paused for dramatic effect. "I plan to personally invite Faye to join my private medical think tank. With my clinical vision and Faye's coding,we will revolutionize the industry."

The JHU doctors gasped in manufactured awe.They showered her with compliments, praising her incredible connections and her ability torecruit a ghost that no one in Silicon Valley could track down.②

Sitting across the table,Tessa Vaughn let out a low,dark chuckle. The sound was thick with raw, biting mockery.

Allena's smile vanished. She glared at Tessa,her fragile ego instantly threatened.

She needed to reassert her dominance. She needed to remind everyone in the room who held the power. Her eyes darted around the room and locked onto the quiet woman at the end of the table.

No.3

Allena pointed a manicured finger toward the small luxury wet bar in the corner of the room.

"Elisa," Allena commanded, her tone sharp and degrading. "Go to the bar. August had his private reserve of Blue Mountain coffee flown in specifically for me. Brew it and serve it to the table."

The room went dead silent.

Asking the Chief Technical Advisor of a billion-dollar Al project to act as a waitress was a blatant,humiliating act of workplace bullyig.

Tessa's face turned bright red. She slammed her hands on the table, half-rising from her chair to defend Elisa.

Elisa didn't look up. She simply raised her left hand,extending one finger. Tessa saw the gesture and slowly sank back into her seat, her jaw clenched in fury. The absolute injustice of the moment burned in Tessa's chest, but she knew Elisa's silent command meant one thing: Do not engage.

No.4

Tessa leaned back in her chair. She crossed her arms over her chest. Her eyes locked onto Allena,burning with a dangerous, defiant light.

"Miss Mills," Tessa said, her voice a smooth, deadly purr. "Before you start ordering our Chief Technical Advisor around, perhaps you should make sure you know exactly how the legendary Faye likes her coffee."

The JHU doctors frowned, exchanging confused glances. The riddle went completely over their heads. Why was the tech researcher bringing the conversation back to Faye?

Allena scoffed, rolling her eyes. She thought Tessa was just trying to embarrass her.

"Faye will drink whatever I serve her, because I only serve the best," Allena retorted arrogantly. She shot a venomous glare at Elisa. "As for right now,bottom-feeders should do bottom-feeder work.Pour the coffee,Elisa."

Tessa's jaw locked. She opened her mouth, fully prepared to shatter her own professionalism and scream the truth into Allena's stupid face.

No.5

Click.

The sharp, crisp sound of Elisa snapping her

encrypted tablet shut echoed through the room.

It cut Tessa off instantly.

Elisa stood up. Her face was a mask of absolute,chilling indifference. There was no anger in her eyes, only the cold calculation of a machine.

She knew the math perfectly. If Tessa exposed her as Faye right now, Germaine's lawyers would instantly be notified of the NDA breach. She would lose the fifty-million-dollar war chest. Worse,Germaine would immediately cut off the funding keeping her grandfather alive at the memory care center.

No.6

She could not sacrifice her grandfather's life for a moment of petty revenge against an idiot. She had to swallow the glass.

"It's perfectly fine, Tessa," Elisa said, her voice smooth and empty. "It is just pouring coffee."②

Tessa stared at her, her brow furrowed in deep frustration. She hated watching her swallow this poison.

Allena's face twisted into a grotesque mask of pure, sadistic joy. Seeing the woman she hated forced into submission filled her with a sick high.

Elisa walked to the wet bar. She picked up the

heavy, silver serving tray. She carefully placed the delicate, expensive bone china cups onto the metal surface, filling them with the steaming, boiling hot black coffee.

No.7

She lfted the heavy tray. She turned around and began the long walk down the edge of the mahogany table, heading straight toward the woman sitting in the seat of power.

Every eye in the room watched her, waiting to see the discarded wife bow to the mistress.④