Chapter 142:


    “Better check your wallet,” Isolde said, smiling sweetly. “I hear she froze your cards about an hour ago.”


    Daron yanked his phone from his pocket with trembling hands and stared at the screen. His face copsed.


    The crowdughed.


    Isolde walked past him, her head high.


    From the balcony, Grayson watched it all — Daron’s humiliation, Isolde’s retreating back, straight as a steel rod.


    He felt a strange, terrifying sensation move through his chest.


    ?????????? ??о???? ??h????????t?? ???? ??a??n??????????.??o??


    Pride.


    And then, immediately after, dread. Because he understood with perfect rity that the weapon he was watching was now pointed directly at him.


    The offices of Carson Dynamics smelled of dust and old paper — a stark contrast to the gleaming ss of Orbital Systems.


    Isolde sat at her father’s old desk. Her mother, Ellyn, sat opposite her, looking aged and defeated.


    “Here’s the situation,” Isolde said, sliding a folder across the desk. “InnoTech rejected yourst shipment of guidance chips, iming they were defective. That triggered the penalty use, which drained your cash reserves. Now the bank is freezing the credit line.”


    “It’s a trap,” Ellyn whispered. “Cheryl… she always hated me. Because Keyon chose me.”


    “She hates you because you have what she wants,” Isolde said. “Legitimacy.”


    She opened herptop. “But here’s the mistake they made — they rejected the shipment, but they didn’t destroy it. Where are the chips?”


    “In the warehouse. They’re useless. InnoTech marked them as Grade B.”


    “They aren’t Grade B,” Isolde said. “Mom, I personally supervised the fabrication of that batch before I left. I designed the QA protocol. I know the logs by heart. Those chips are perfect. InnoTech simply refused to certify them.”


    She dialed And.


    “Isolde?”


    “And, does Orbital need guidance chips for the Phoenix prototype?”


    “We do. Lead time is six months.”


    “How about six hours?” Isolde asked. “Carson Dynamics has five thousand units sitting in a warehouse in Jersey. High-spec. Compatible with our architecture.”


    “Are you serious? Why are they avable?”


    “Because InnoTech was too shortsighted to keep them. I’m authorizing the sale — Orbital buys the lot at market price, cash upfront.”


    “Done,” And said. “I’ll wire the funds within the hour.”


    Isolde hung up and looked at her mother. “You’re solvent. The bank can’t freeze an ount that just received a five-million-dor injection.”


    Ellyn burst into tears. “Isolde… I don’t deserve this. I was so hard on you.”


    “We’ll talk about thatter,” Isolde said, rising from her chair. “Right now, we have a board meeting to crash.”


    Meanwhile, at the Lancaster offices, Grayson was staring at a contract.


    “Just sign it, Gray,” Belle purred, massaging his shoulders. “The InnoTech partnership will boost the stock. Everyone loved the presentation.”


    “Isolde didn’t,” Grayson muttered.


    “Who cares what she thinks?” Belle kissed his cheek. “She’s just trying to scare you. The board is expecting this — if you don’t sign, it looks like you’ve lost faith in thepany’s direction.”


    Grayson sighed. She was right. The optics were everything.


    .


    .


    .