Derek's gaze remained calm as still water, as if the woman being crucified on trending topics had absolutely nothing to do with him.

"Claus, fifty-eight, Master's in Precision Engineering from Lumeria. He has an extreme focus and passion for technology," He explained.

Ella quickly scanned through the material on the tablet, feeling her heart sink.

Derek's intelligence was exhaustive, covering everything from Claus's favorite beer brand and preferred ski resorts to even his son's alma mater.

"He despises all forms of PR and marketing and only believes in dataand tangible results. Three years ago, Raymond Group attempted to acquire a fifteen percent stake in MicroMachining Solutions. Claus publicly denounced them as 'financial parasites."

Ella closed the tablet and looked toward Derek in the driver's seat."Mr.Thornton, this goes well beyond standard background research on a potential business partner."

Derek's lips curved slightly upward as the car smoothly merged into traffic."I told you that I never make investments without certainty."

"Are you helping me, or using me?" Ella asked bluntly.

Derek turned the steering wheel, his profile appearing hard and cold in the shadows. "Is there a difference?"

"Diamond Tech is like a sinking ship. I'm giving you new sails. All you need to do is steer it into Austin's course and wreck him. In this deal, you can't lose." He added.

Ella understood now.

Derek was no white knight coming to her rescue. He was more like a wolf lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to deliver a fatal blow to Austin.

"Austin took a project from you," She stated rather than asked.

Derek's eyes turned ice-cold, his voice dropping low. "Three years ago,Orion Global Holdings' logistics system lost to Raymond Group in the final bidding."

Ella caught the key point in his words immediately. "You lost, but not because of technology."

Derek cast a glance at this uncommonly perceptive woman and said coldly,"The tactics he used were identical to what you're seeing in those trending topics now."

"Except back then, his target was my Chief Technology Officer."He continued.

"That CTO was disgraced by a scandal involving prostitution and leaked trade secrets. He's still in prison today."

Ella felt a chill spread through her entire body.

So that was it.

Austin and Judith-they were cut from the same cloth.

Derek suddenly curved his lips into a meaningful smile.

"Ella, don't disappoint me. I hate losers."

The car pulled up at the departure terminal of the airport.

Ella unbuckled her seatbelt. "Thank you, for the information, Mr. Thornton.We'll discuss the specifics of Series A financing when I return."

She opened the door and stepped out without hesitation.

Derek watched her straight, confident silhouette disappear into the crowd,then took out his phone and dialed a number.

"She's boarding the plane. Proceed as planned. Clear away all interference with the Prometheus Project. I don't care what Austin is planning. The MicroMachining Solutions contract must belong to Ella."

The thirteen-hour flight felt like an endless wait for Ella.

She barely closed her eyes.

With noise-canceling headphones on, she focused intensely on the encrypted technical documents about MicroMachining Solutions displayed on her laptop.

Beside her was the black USB drive Karen had given her.

She carefully inserted the drive into her computer's isolated port.

No password was required.

The USB contained only one encrypted zip file and a text document named "Hint."

The document contained what appeared to be a meaningless string of numbers and letters: (JC-1998-P.]

Ella furrowed her brow.

Could JC be her mother's initials-Janice Clark?

Was 1998 a year?

And what did P stand for?

At that moment, a prompt flashed across the computer screen: [Ella, upon reading these words, you have begun to unravel the world I left behind.Scorched Earth was merely an appetizer, a mere shadow of the Spark. The true Spark lies locked away in the deepest recesses. The key resides within you, yet the time to unlock it has not yet arrived. Beware the Syndicate,beware the zealots; they will hunt you like sharks sensing the scent of blood. To seek a man named Robert Adler, he is the sole guardian I can trust.]

Through tear-blurred eyes, Ella gazed in wonder at what this key wvas.

This USB ddrive was her mother's greatest trump card, and she didn't dare risk a brute force approach to crack it.

She closed the USB drive, took a deep breath, and forced herself to refocus on the MicroMachining Solutions project.

That stubborn Claus would never sign a contract just because of Derek's influence.

She needed to bring real technical prowess to the table.

By now, the plane had landed at Ironbridge Airport, local time just after six in the morning.

As soon as Ella turned on her phone, Jason's urgent text messages uppeared.

[Landed yet?]

['The situation back home has escalated!].

UJudith's team paid someone claiming to be your college roommate to start a livestream alleging you earned scholarships by sleeping with men!]

[Griffin from Horizon Ventures Inc. can't withstand the pressure anymore.Their stock dropped three points at market open today!]

[He's demanding you provide some positive public news within twenty-four hours, otherwise the performance contract might be invalidated for violating regulations or being grossly unfair.]

Ella drew in a deep breath of Ironbridge's chilly air, as if trying to inhale all her anxiety.

Twenty-four hours.

Judith had calculated perfectly, striking when Ella would be most vulnerable-just off a plane, jet-lagged and exhausted.

She replied: [I understand.]

[Ella, how are things on your end? Should I just release Hugo's money transfer records now?| Jason texted back.

[No need. Let her make noise-the bigger, the better. Don't worry about this end.J She replied.

As she exited the terminal, a middle-aged Lumeria man holding a sign with "Ella Brooks - Diamond Tech" immediately approuched her.

"Ms. Brooks? I'm Weber, department manager at MicroMachining Solutions. Mr.Schmide is waiting for you."

Weber appeared polite, but his distant gaze and slight contempt were impossible to hide.

Ella had not slept all night. Her face was pale, her thin frame wrapped in a black business suit, looking like afresh graduate with little worldly experience.

Weber had clearly seen those international scandals about her.

Instead of heading to the hotel, the car drove directly to the industrial park in Ironbridge's suburbs.

"Mr. Schmidt's time is extremely valuable," Weber explained in heavily accented Arcadian.

"We have a board meeting at nine, so we can only meet with you now."

Ella glanced at her watch-it was seven-thirty.

Expecting her to negotiate immediately after landing, with no time to adjust to the jet lag, wasn't about valuable time at all.

It was deliberate intimidation.

MicroMachining Solutions' headquarters resembled a military base more than a corporate office. Cold and austere, everyone wore identical blue uniforms, moving with purposeful haste.

Ella was led into a massive conference room.

Claus, the man described in the file as the stubborn old man, sat at the head of the table with a steaming cup of black coffee before him.

He didn't stand up, merely rwising his eyos to give her a cursory glance.

"Ms. Brooks, I've reviewed your materials," Schmidt began in rapid,harsh Lumerian.

Ella looked toward Weber, who immediately started translating.

"Mr. Schmidt says he's seen your documents, but he doubts your company's capabilities."

Weber's translation deliberately omitted all the sharp technical terms in Schmidt's speech, conveying only the most superficial meaning.

Schmidt's frown deepened as he listened to Weber's translation.

"Weber, tell her that the third node of her algorithm model has an obvious logical flaw that would cause the gyroscope to lose control under high-frequency oscillation," Schmidt rattled off another string of Lumerian.

Weber cleared his throat and translated, "Mr. Schmidt believes your technology isn't mature enough."

Ella suddenly smiled. She stood up, walked to the conference table, and leaned forward slightly with her hands on the surface.

"Mr. Schmidt, I believe my Lumerian proficiency is adequate to understand what you just said," She replied in fluent, perfectly pronounced Lumerian.

"And I must correct you-that's not a logical fallacy,but a deliberately designed backdoor. I understand Lumerian. It was my second major at university."

Ella returned his stare without yielding an inch.