At the moment, Elodie had no idea what was happening on the Neural

Intelligence side.

Still, with technical experts from different countries brought in to support Sylvie, it was only a matter of time before Neural Intelligence made headlines with their own achievements.

Elodie didn’t see any issue with that.

Alexander let out a dry laugh. “Jarrod really paved a smooth road for Sylvie, didn’t he? VistaLink Technologies runs into a crisis, and suddenly Neural Intelligence is in the spotlight.”

Elodie stayed quiet.

Frankly, she didn’t care what happened to him anymore.

Right now, their priority was to track down solid evidence.

And pacifying VistaLink Technologies’ partners was no small feat either.

By the time Elodie finished a meeting with one of the partner companies, she was already nursing a headache. It wasn’t frustration over the incident itself but the way these sudden emergencies had drained her energy, forcing her to push past her limits just to keep up.

Now, she just felt wrung out and weak.

Alexander noticed she was looking pale.

“It’s lunchtime. Let’s get you something to eat,” he suggested gently.

Elodie didn’t put up a fight.

They picked a restaurant nearby, tucked inside the Global Trade Plaza.

This was a members-only place-Alexander happened to be a platinum member,

so they went straight upstairs. As they passed a partitioned alcove, someone called out to Elodie.

“Elodie! Well, isn’t this a surprise? Join us for lunch?”

She turned her head and saw Malcom, Reba Harcourt, Jarrod, and Sylvie gathered around a table.

Jarrod glanced over, his gaze lingering on Elodie’s face for a split second.

He said nothing. He didn’t ask about the recent patent disputes between VistaLink Technologies and Neural Intelligence.

Sylvie sat poised, turning to Alexander with a polite smile. “Mr. Sterling, would you care to join us?”

Alexander thought the audacity was impressive. To a bystander, you’d never guess there was any animosity between the two parties.

Malcom chuckled and chimed in, “We’re all friends here. Besides, it’s been ages since I last saw you. I was here talking business with Ms. Fielding-since we’ve wrapped things up, why not join us and have a friendly chat?”

Elodie’s gaze was cool, her words even colder. “What’s there to chat about? If you can stomach lunch with the man who meddled in your own daughter’s marriage, I’m not that shameless.”

Malcom’s expression darkened, clearly furious.

Reba shot to her feet. “Elodie, do you have to be so rude? That’s our father you’re talking to. Don’t you have any decency?”

Even Sylvie’s composure slipped; she glanced at Elodie in disbelief.

“Is my last name Harcourt?” Elodie retorted, not bothering with pleasantries. “Don’t try to play the family card with me.”

To her, the Harcourt family was a den of wolves. Years ago, they’d picked her bones clean, and when she had no value left, they’d only used her one last time- to shove her into Jarrod’s arms in exchange for this miserable marriage.

“You-!” Reba sputtered, her voice trembling with anger. “No wonder your love life’s a mess. With that attitude, who could stand you?”

Jarrod looked up at Reba.

Malcom caught the look. He figured Jarrod must agree with Reba-why else would Sylvie be here now?

Sylvie caught it too. The corners of her mouth lifted, but she kept her expression neutral.

Alexander let out a cold laugh. “President Harcourt, you really do set quite the example for your children. Impressive.”

Malcom and Reba’s faces both soured.

Sylvie quickly stepped in, addressing Alexander directly. “Mr. Sterling, we’re willing to give VistaLink Technologies some time. But you know how it is now that things have escalated, everyone expects answers. I have to look out for my team. So… if VistaLink Technologies can’t provide proof, we’ll have to pursue legal action.”

That would mean terminating VistaLink Technologies’ patent rights.

Elodie’s eyes were icy as she replied, her tone steady and even. “Then Neural Intelligence should make sure to stop the rumors about us as well. Don’t let things spiral out of control or you won’t be able to clean up the mess.”

Sylvie frowned.

Elodie was already turning away.

Alexander glanced at Jarrod, then at Sylvie, and left them with a chilly parting shot. “Ms. Fielding, take care of yourself.”

Sylvie couldn’t understand why VistaLink Technologies was still so defiant. With all the negative press surrounding them, surely their bravado was just for show.

She dismissed it from her mind.

Elodie didn’t let the incident ruin her lunch. Health came first-she needed her strength to deal with everything ahead.

After eating, she and Alexander headed back to the Sterling house. Something had just occurred to her.

Not every part of the new flight control system was built from scratch over the past few months. Some of the original ideas were from years ago—she’d even saved a few files on her old laptop. That computer was long gone, but she remembered, four or five years back, staying up late at the Sterling house with Alexander, writing technical plans and prototype code on the family’s computer. Now, she’d finally refined those concepts into a working core technology.