Chapter 250

No.1

The heavy silence in the room pressed down on August. Hundreds of eyes were locked on him,waiting for his answer.

August forced his jaw to unclench. He deployed his best corporate facade, masking his panic with smooth arrogance.

"Mrs. Hawthorne," August said, his voice steady and diplomatic. "My marital status is currently in a state of... peaceful transition. I assure you, regardless of the final legal outcome, the Chambers Group's financial commitment and the patent ownership of Project Chiron are absolutely secure."

It was a classic Wall Street non-answer. He used vague terms to cover up the fact that his mother had stolen the decree and his marriage was a legal nightmare.

Helena's lips curled into a sneer of pure disgust.

"Peaceful transition," Helena mocked, shaking her

No.2

head, "You finance boys love to use pretty words to describe a burning building."

She didn't press the issue. She had already acheved her goal. She had publicly exposed his weakness and stripped him of his authority.

Helena turned away from August. She dismissed him entirely.

She looked down at Elisa. The harshness in the old woman's face melted away, replaced by a look of intense,academic hunger.

"Ms. Wilder," Helena said, her voice dropping to a respectful, conversational tone. "Or do you prefer Faye?"

Elisa stood up. She met the Chairwoman's eyes with calm confidence.

No.3

"Elisa is fine, Mrs. Hawthorne," she replied.

"I read your white paper on the Chiron architecture,"Helena said. "I have a question regarding the deep-learning neural pathways. How exactly did you bypass the latency issues when encrypting live patient biometric data through a decentralized node

network?"

It was a brutally complex question. Itrequired a master-level understanding of both advanced cryptography and medical data compliance.

The executives in the room looked confused.

Across the aisle, Allena's face went completely blank.Her eyes darted around the room. If Helena had asked her that question, she would have been exposed as a total fraud in three seconds.

No.4

Elisa didn't hesitate.

"The latency isn't bypassed; it's absorbed," Elisa explained, her voice clear and authoritative. "I wrote a custom algorithm that fragments the biometric data at the point of entry. It encrypts the fragments simultaneously across three separate nodes before reassembling them at the secure server. I creates a micro-delay of 0.02 seconds, which is statistically irrelevant for clinical diagnostics, but mathematically impossible to hack."

She paused, looking directly at Helena.

"However, the framework you referenced in your

question was based on an older model," Elisa added smoothly. "I updated the encryption protocol last week to comply with the new EU privacy standards."

Helena stared at Elisa. Her eyes widened slightly in genuine awe.

No.5

Slowly, Helena raised her hands and began to clap.The sound of her applause echoed loudly in the silent room.

"Brilliant," Helena breathed. "Absolutely brilliant."

She turned and glared at Cyprian, who was still standing near the platform. "Take notes, you idiot.That is what actual genius looks like."

Cyprian nodded frantically, his face pale.

Helena reached into the pocket of her tweed jacket.She pulled out a thick, matte black business card.It had no logo, no title. Just a single phone number printed in silver ink.

"Call me after this is over, Elisa," Helena said, her voice low and firm as she handed the card across the desk. "The country needs minds like yours focused on real problems. Don't waste it."

No.6

Elisa took the black card. It was the ultimate prize.It was absolute, undeniable validation from the highest authority in the country.

"It would be an honor," Elisa said softly.

August stood frozen. He stared at the black card in Elisa's hand. A sickening wave of jealousy and shock washed over him. He realized, with terrifying clarity,that Elisa didn't need his money or his power. She was building an empire of her own.

In the aisle seat, Allena's fingernails dug so hard into her palms that she drew blood. She glared at Elisa with pure, homicidal hatred.

Helena turned around and walked back up the wooden steps to the platform.

"Take your seats," Helena commanded into the microphone. "This hearing is now in session."

No.7

Elisa sat down. She placed the black card face up on the wooden desk. She looked at August's pale face,and then at Allena's furious eyes.