Victor stared at the screen, then at Adrian. “How did you see that?”
Adrian adjusted his backpack strap. “You were looking for something complicated,” he said softly. “Sometimes it’s easier to see when you don’t assume you’re right.”
That afternoon, Adrian didn’t return to school on the bus. Instead, he sat in the backseat of a black company sedan beside CEO Daniel Harper, who had watched everything unfold on security footage.
Word spread fast. Within weeks, Adrian was invited back as a consultant—an unheard-of arrangement. An eleven-year-old in an oversized chair, flipping through technical schematics with quiet certainty. Some engineers, like Ethan, admired him. Others, like Richard Cole, felt their pride corrode every time the boy solved in minutes what had consumed them for months.
Tension deepened when Daniel unveiled Project “Helios Rise,” Nexora’s largest contract yet. He entrusted Adrian with reviewing the final protocols—and presenting them.
“This is reckless,” Richard muttered. “He’s a child.”
“He’s saved us twice,” Daniel replied evenly. “He’s earned it.”