Word of the news reached Klein Whitaker as well.

He was genuinely taken aback that VistaLink Technologies would drop such a bombshell out of nowhere.

But the more he thought about it, the more sense it made—especially with someone like Elodie, a state-classified genius, working behind the scenes. Everything suddenly fit.

Klein called Naylor Whitaker. “You’ve heard about VistaLink Technologies, right? If you want to secure the international supply chain this year, you need to act fast. Get over there and have a real conversation with Ms. Thorne at VistaLink Technologies.”

Of course, Naylor was already aware of the game-changing patent announcement from VistaLink Technologies.

“Why talk to Elodie?” Naylor was puzzled. Alexander was the CEO and the obvious decision-maker-why was his father pushing him toward Elodie?

Given Elodie’s confidential background hadn’t been declassified yet, Klein knew better than to break protocol. Not even for his own son. All he could do was nudge him in the right direction.

“Trust me. Build a good relationship with Ms. Thorne. It can only help you.”

Naylor managed to pull himself together, but his voice was tight. “Dad, I’ll do my best.”

“Your best isn’t good enough. If you can’t lock this down, you might as well find a new line of work. We’re already behind on technology, and if you want to develop this new guidance system VistaLink just rolled out? With what we’ve got here, you’re looking at five years-minimum-of hard work and frustration. By the time you catch up, VistaLink will be operating on a whole different level. You don’t have a choice.”

Naylor’s expression darkened. Ever since he heard the news, he’d been nursing a headache. “… But I’ve had conflicts with VistaLink Technologies. They already shut down my last proposal.”

That was the real problem.

He understood perfectly well: miss this window, and he’d be out of the race for good.

VistaLink Technologies had been moving at breakneck speed these last few months-it was almost unfair!

Klein sounded genuinely surprised. “Conflicts?”

It was news to him.

Naylor didn’t have the nerve to admit the truth-that it had been an argument with

a woman. If his father knew, he’d probably lay down the law, old school.

“…It’s nothing. I’ll try,” Naylor muttered, ending the call. He leaned on his desk, his face clouded with anxiety.

The industry was in upheaval. This time, he had no room to maneuver.

Whatever it took, he had to land this partnership.

But Klein and Naylor weren’t the only ones rattled by the news.

At Neural Intelligence, Sylvie had just finished a meeting when she heard about VistaLink Technologies’ breakthrough.

She stopped in her tracks, stunned, struggling to process just how revolutionary this new flight control system really was.

For a long moment, she just stood there, expression frozen.

VistaLink Technologies had blown everyone’s expectations out of the water.

They’d seized the very lifeblood of the industry. Now, unless her company and the others could develop a rival guidance system in record time, the market would leave them behind.

And she knew, better than anyone, that with the sheer value of VistaLink’s new patent, they were at least five years ahead of most competitors.

Neural Intelligence…

They were caught flat-footed, completely on the defensive.

Sylvie’s face paled. In just a few days, she’d lost her top graduate student to Elodie, and now VistaLink Technologies had leapfrogged Neural Intelligence with a patent that put them years ahead. Suddenly, Neural Intelligence was staring down an ultimatum either pay a fortune for the rights to the new technology or get pushed out of the game entirely.

Overnight, VistaLink Technologies had knocked them out of their long-standing rivalry. Now, to even stay afloat, they’d have to practically beg VistaLink for a licensing deal.

This wasn’t the outcome Sylvie wanted.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she walked into her office, turning

everything over in her mind before finally calling Jarrod.

When he picked up, Sylvie pressed her lips together. “Jarrod, you’ve heard about VistaLink Technologies, right?”

“Yeah, I have.”

“Do you have any advice? I’m at a loss here.” Sylvie couldn’t help but soften her tone. For the first time, she felt cornered.

Jarrod’s voice was calm and measured. “This isn’t like previous projects. VistaLink Technologies now holds the key to the entire industry. If no one can rival their system in the near future, you only have one option.”

“You need to swallow your pride and pay VistaLink Technologies a visit.”

Sylvie clenched her fist.

In short…

She was going to have to ask for help.