"Charlene knows engines? She understands microchips? That''s impossible."


    Henley still couldn''t believe the paper Charlene published earlier was really her


    own work, even though it had caused quite a stir in the field.


    Now Maureen was telling him that Charlene was talented in both engine design


    and chip technology?


    How could that be?


    Maureen lowered her gaze, her voice quiet. "You don''t have to take my word for it.


    Just look it up yourself."


    A few momentster, after watching a clip from Axiom Flux Technologies'' press


    conference where Charlene spoke, Maureen felt her heart sink.


    Henley, on the other hand, still looked like he was in shock.


    At that moment, Leah''s angry voice came through on the phone. "She''s doing this


    on purpose! It wasn''t enough that she sabotaged Uncle''s traffic project-now


    she''sing after Vesta''spany, too!"


    Henley and Maureen exchanged a look; it was clear to both of them.


    Regardless of whether the tech breakthroughs shown at the conference were truly


    Charlene''s own work, one thing was certain: Axiom Flux Technologies''


    announcement was going to hit Neural Nexus Tech like a wrecking ball.


    Before either Henley or Maureen could respond, Leah''s tone switched from anger


    to anxiety. "What are we supposed to do now? Everyone''s saying Axiom Flux


    Technologies is going to dominate most of the self-driving car market. Vesta''s


    Sure, Axiom Flux Technologies seemed unstoppable at the moment, but-


    Maureen unclenched her fists and spoke with a calm, almost dismissive air.


    "Technology evolves every day. Today it''s yourpany making headlines,


    tomorrow it''s mine. Self-driving cars aren''t evenmercially avable yet, not


    really. We still have time. Markets shift. What looks like a sure thing now might be


    will dominate."


    She had a point.


    But Henley, who''d been running his own techpany for years without any truly


    groundbreaking breakthroughs, knew just how difficult it was to gain a


    technological edge.


    If making a breakthrough were easy, there wouldn''t be such a thing as tech giants


    -either here or abroad.


    The truth was, whoever seizes the initiative wins the game.


    And Axiom Flux Technologies hadn''t just made a breakthrough in one area, but


    several on a global scale.


    Otherpanies could only watch or try to catch up. Some might close the gap in


    a year or two; others, in ten or twenty years.


    By the time they thought they''d caught up, the market would have already left


    them behind.


    Henley felt a wave of unease. "I wonder what Thorne makes of all this."


    Maureen knew he was thinking of reaching out to their daughter.


    She shook her head slightly.


    "They''ve got more important things


    to handle right now. Let''s wait for


    Vesta and the others to finish what


    they''re working on."


    Henley nodded. "Alright."


    There wasn''t much else they could do.


    Vesta returned home after dinner with Thorne, Mr. ck, and the others.


    Her family hadn''t tried to contact her


    while she was out with Edwin, but


    she had no doubt that everyone at


    home already knew about the Axiom


    Flux Technologies press


    conference-and Charlene''s


    involvement.


    Sure enough, when she walked in the door, her parents and Leah were all there,


    waiting.


    Before anyone could speak, Vesta asked, "So, you''ve all heard?"


    Maureen gave a brief nod. "We have. What does Thorne say about it?"


    Vesta sat down, shaking her head. "He hasn''t said anything."


    Maureen paused, her mug halfway to her lips. "What do you mean?"


    Vesta replied, "He hasn''t said a word to me about the Axiom Flux Technologies


    announcement."


    Thorne hadn''tmented on Charlene. He hadn''t said anything about the


    Maureen paused again, momentarily at a loss.


    Henley and Leah exchanged nces, surprised.


    This wasn''t like Thorne at all.


    Usually, when a crisis like this


    hit-especially one with such a


    massive impact on Neural Nexus


    Tech-Thorne would have reassured


    Vesta told her not to worry, and then


    patiently broken down the technical,


    market, and business implications of


    Axiom Flux Technologies


    breakthroughs. He always helped


    her work out what to do next, how to


    get out of a tight spot.


    But this time, he''d said nothing at all.