Chapter 204

No.1

The VIP elevator shot upward, the numbers on the digital display climbing rapidly.

At the forty-fifth floor, the elevator chimed and came to a smooth halt. The polished steel doors slid open.

Devon Browning and Allena stepped into the cabin.Allena had already changed into a skin-tight,sequined evening gown for the summit's opening reception.

The moment they stepped inside, the spacious elevator suddenly felt like a suffocating cage. The air grew thick with immediate, toxic hostility. The doors slid shut, locking the three of them in a moving steel box.

Devon looked down at the heavy gold keycard in Elisa's hand. The symbol of the Presidential Penthouse gleamed under the halogen lights. A vicious, ugly sneer twisted Devon's face.

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his tailored trousers.

"You really think sleeping in the Penthouse changes

No.2

anything, Elisa?" Devon mocked, his voice echoing loudly in the confined space. "You think it covers up the fact that you are a toxic, useless liability?"

Elisa kept her eyes fixed on the changing floor numbers. She didn't even blink.

Devon took a step closer, trying to use his height to intimidate her. "The four biggest VCs on Wall Street just pulled out of Aethel. Everyone knows you are a fraud. You are a cancer dragging Alastair Cromwell down."

Allena covered her mouth and let out a high-pitched, grating giggle.

"It's true, sister," Allena cooed, leaning against the handrail. "Building Al isn't like emptying bedpans in the ER. You should just surrender now. If you beg,August might still leave you a few crumbs to survive on."

Elisa took a slow, deep breath. The elevator chimed, signaling they had reached the top floor.

She stood up straight. She slowly turned her head and looked at Devon. Her eyes were so cold and dead they looked like black ice.

No.3

"The Browning Venture Fund posted a one-point-two percent return on investment last quarter,"

Elisa stated. Her voice was a flat, mechanical drone, delivering the data like a lethal injection."You are failing to outpace basic inflation."

Devon's smug smile vanished instantly. His face flushed a dark, angry red.

"lf I were you," Elisa continued, her voice dropping to a freezing whisper, "I would go back to my room and read a financial report, instead of worrying about how to value a ten-billion-dollar decacorn."

Devon opened his mouth to scream at her, but the elevator doors dinged and slid open.

Elisa stepped out into the plush hallway without looking back, leaving Devon and Allena choking on their own rage inside the steel box.

At eight o'clock that evening, the Grand Ballroom of the Four Seasons was packed with the most powerful venture capitalists and tech CEOs in the world.

No.4

Elisa walked through the massive double doors.She had changed into a midnight-blue velvet gown.The fabric was expertly draped, absorbing the light and perfectly concealing the rigid, bulky outline of her carbon-fiber back brace, making her look like an untouchable creature born from the shadows.Her dark hair was swept up, exposing the long,

elegant line of her neck.

The moment she entered, the low hum of conversation shifted. Eyes turned toward her. She was Faye, the architect of Project Chiron, the most mysterious and dangerous woman in the room.

In the center of the ballroom, August Chambers stood holding a crystal flute of champagne. He was surrounded by Silicon Valley billionaires.

He saw Elisa.

His breath caught in his throat. HHis hand tightened around the stem of his glass. He could not look away. The sheer, undeniable power radiating from her was intoxicating.

Allena, clinging tightly to August's arm, felt his muscles lock. She followed his gaze and saw Elisa.A wave of pure, acidic jealousy burned Allena's stomach. She deliberately dug her nails into August's arm and dragged him across the room,steering him directly toward Elisa to mark her territory.②

No.5

Elisa was standing near a pillar, deep in conversation with Jett Harkin, the eccentric CEO of a massive medical robotics firm. Jett was animated,clearly fascinated by Elisa's technical knowledge.

August and Allena stopped right next to them.August stared at Elisa with a dark, aggressive intensity, completely ignoring Jett.

Suddenly, Jett Harkin stopped talking. He frowned and leaned forward, sniffing the air between Elisa and August.

Jett was a notorious collector of rare perfumes.His nose was insured for millions, and rumors said he once sniffed out a tech mogul's secret mistress just by catching a whiff of her base notes in an elevator.

"This is absolutely incredible," Jett said, his,voice loud enough to cut through the surrounding chatter. He looked back and forth between August and Elisa wvith a bewildered expression. "Ms.Wilder... Mr. Chambers. Are you two wearing the exact same fragrance?"

The conversations around them instantly died.Several powerful investors turned their heads, their eyes wide with sudden, intense curiosity.

Jett closed his eyes and inhaled_deeply. "This is Jean-Claude's discontinued bespoke blend. There are only two bottles left in the world. The top note is freezing cedar, but the base note... the base note is an incredibly intimate, lingering ambergris."

No.6

Allena's face turned the color of chalk.

She stared at August in absolute horror. She had always thought that cold, sharp scent was just August's natural smell. She had buried her face in his neck a hundred times, inhaling what she now realized was a custom "couples" fragrance he shared with his ex-wife.

August froze completely. The champagne glass in his hand trembled slightly.

His psychological armor shattered. He had subconsciously refused to change his cologne for seven years because it was the only physical trace of Elisa he allowed himself to keep. Now, his deepest, most pathetic secret had just been publicly dissected by a stranger.

The surrounding investors exchanged knowing,mocking glances. The great August Chambers, who claimed to hate his ex-wife, was still wearing her scent.

Elisa looked at August's rigid, pale face. A wave of intense physiological disgust rolled through her stomach. He humiliated her, he destroyed her life,yet he clung to her smell like a sick, twisted stalker.

Elisa took a deliberate step backward, creating a physical gap between them. A look of absolute,crushing contempt settled on her face.

No.7

"You are mistaken, Mr. Harkin," Elisa said. Her voice was crystal clear, carrying effortlessly across the silent room. "That is just the stale stench of a mistake I threw in the trash years ago. I had no idea Mr. Chambers had developed a fetish for digging through the garbage."

She turned and walked away, leaving August standing in the center of the ballroom, his pride bleeding out onto the floor.