Chapter 252
No.1
Elisa stepped through the heavy double doors.
The bright, natural light of the marble-floored lobby hit her face. The air was cooler out here, free from the suffocating tension of the hearing room.
Alastair walked beside her. He kept his voice low,quietly discussing the next phase of the clinical rollout in Geneva. Elisa listened, her mind already shifting to the global strategy.
Near the massive lobby fountain, Devon Browning stood waiting. He held a large bouquet of expensive white lilies, ready to celebrate Allena's supposed triumph.
The double doors swung open violently behind them.
Allena rushed out of the hearing room. She ignored Devon entirely. She spotted Helena walking briskly toward the private executive elevators on the far side of the lobby.
No.2
Allena practically sprinted across the polished
marble floor in her high heels.
"Chairwoman Hawthorne! Wait a moment, please!"Allena called out. Her high-pitched voice echoed sharply in the large, cavernous space.
Helena paused. She leaned heavily on her wooden cane. She turned around slowly, her face twisting into a look of profound, unfiltered annoyance.
Allena stopped a few feet away, panting slightly.She quickly adjusted her posture and put on her most charming,deferential smile.
"I just wanted to personally thank you for validating my team's hard work today," Allena said smoothly,her voice dripping with fake humility.
No.3
Devon jogged over. He stood proudly behind Allena,offering his billionaire presence as a silent show of support.
Allena continued, emboldened by Devon's arrival."As the lead medical consultant, I poured my soul into guiding the AI's diagnostic parameters. It means everything to me."
Elisa and Alastair stopped walking. They stood a few
yards away, watching the impending trainwreck unfold.
Helena stared at Allena for a long, agonizing moment. Her expression was completely unreadable.
"Your team? Your soul?" Helena repeated. Her voice dripped with icy skepticism.
No.4
Helena didn't look away from Allena. She simply raised two fingers, signaling her assistant-a sharp-looking woman in a navy suit standing nearby.
The assistant immediately opened a thick leather binder. She pulled out the official, freshly stamped FDA certification document.
Helena snatched the heavy paper from her assistant.She stepped forward and thrust the document directly into Allena's face.
"Read the primary authorship line, Miss Mills," Helena commanded sharply. "Read it out loud."
Allena's confident smile faltered. Her breath hitched.She looked down at the thick,federal-grade paper hovering inches from her nose.
Her eyes scanned the dense text. Suddenly, her
No.5
pupils dilated in absolute horror. The blood drained from her face, leaving her skin a sickly, pale gray.
Printed in bold, undeniable ink under the heading 'Chief Architect & Primary IP Holder' in the proprietary patent addendum-a section shielded from public registries to protect corporate assets-was a single name: Elisa Wilder.
Allena's mouth opened and closed like a suffocating fish. Her throat worked frantically, but she was unable to produce a single sound.
Devon frowned. He leaned over Allena's shoulder to look at the paper. His arrogant smirk vanished instantly. His eyes widened in shock.
"That... that has to be a clerical error," Devon stammered, his voice cracking. He looked wildly between Helena and Elisa, standing quietly in the distance.
"The FDA does not make clerical errors on Tier-1patents, Mr. Browning," Helena snapped back. Her voice was like a cracking whip.
No.6
Helena pulled the document back. She looked at Allena with pure, unfiltered disgust.
"You,are listed on page forty-two as a secondary clinical observer," Helena clarified brutally. "A spectator."
The word hit Allena like a physical blow. She physically stumbled backward. Her stiletto heel caught on the slick marble floor. She flailed her arms,nearly dropping her designer bag as Devon caught her elbow to keep her from falling.
Helena didn't waste another second. She turned her back on the stunned pair and stepped into the waiting executive elevator.
The polished steel doors slid shut with a soft chime.
Allena and Devon were left standing frozen in the middle of the grand lobby, completely exposed, their fabricated reality shattered into a million pieces.