Her Bittersweet Upgrade

ed with a quiet energy beneath the neon glow. Her fingers hovered over the laptop keyboard, the latest email from "A Friend" glowing on the screen. The beta test logs for DAISY were a gol

ve got a problem. The investors are spooked. Word's out that Reid

That's a bluff. They're covering the

ursive loop in DAISY's neural network-untested, unstable. If we leak

takes. She'd rebuilt her life from Daxon's betrayal, and now he was striking back. "We do

"You're playing chess w

steely edge to her voice. "

s tailored dashiki hinting at wealth and mystery. "You've stirred a hornet's nest," he said,

of her teacup. "But I need your consortium's in

ding a fine line, Kemi. My people d

untered. "Daxon's coming for us. I need to know i

d. "I'll send a team. But

hone. "Kemi, you need to stop digging. Daxon's hiring pr

"Lara, why are you warni

capable of. And I've seen what yo

n. Hours passed as she traced the flaw-a subtle infinite loop that could overload DAISY's servers under st

"It's legit, Kemi. DAISY will crash if pushed hard enough.

ithin a trap. Daxon's setting u

dnight. Alone. -A Friend. The risk was palpable, but so was the opportunity. Kemi d

g threats. A figure emerged from the shadows-tall, cloaked, their face obscured. "You'

ded, her hand clu

"I was his lead developer. He stole my work for DAISY

raced. "Wh

ng her a USB drive. "Proof's here

r. I know you're out there. Come home, Kemi. We can fix t

nts stolen, contracts voided. But a video file showed Daxon and Camilla in a heated a

yline, the USB in hand. The ally was real, but the g