Chapter 276
“If you curve the intake by twelve degrees,” Isolde said, her voice clear and confident, “you increase the airflow velocity and cool the casing naturally. You don’t need heavier heat shields. You just need better geometry.”
Sterling stared at her. He blinked. His eyes moved to the paper and then moved rapidly across it, doing the mental calculus.
Silence stretched for ten seconds.
Then his eyes widened, and for the first time he looked at her face.
“Who are you?” he asked.
Isolde extended her hand. “Isolde Carson. I represent Carson Dynamics.”
Sterling ignored her hand. “You’re the one Arland talked about? The ‘hidden dragon’?”
“I hope he said good things,” Isolde said.
𝗠𝗈re ոo𝗏𝘦𝗅𝘀 о𝘯 𝘨a𝗅𝗻𝗈𝘃𝖾l𝘴.сo𝘮
Sterling grinned — a boyish, genuine grin that transformed his intense face. “He said you were dangerous. I thought he was exaggerating.” He snatched the blueprint back, though not rudely, and studied it again. “Twelve degrees. It’s so simple. Why didn’t my team see that?”
“Because they are looking at the simulation,” Isolde said. “I look at the physics.”
Sterling laughed. “Come with me. Let’s talk about twelve degrees.”
He turned and strode toward the security gates, waving his badge. “Let her in! She’s with me!”
The flustered engineer was left behind, still gathering papers.
Isolde followed. Her heart was pounding, but this time it wasn’t from fear — it was adrenaline. This was her world. This was where she belonged.
As she passed through the security gate, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She glanced at the screen.
A text from the hospital billing department: ALERT: Payment method removed. Outstanding balance: $15,000. Please update immediately to avoid discharge.
Isolde put the phone back in her pocket and kept walking.
She had a future to build.
Sterling’s private office was a chaotic mess of whiteboards, 3D printers, and coffee cups. The walls were covered in equations written in red marker.
He cleared a chair for her by sweeping a pile of circuit boards onto the floor.
“Prove it,” Sterling said, handing her a dry-erase marker.
Isolde didn’t hesitate. She walked to the largest whiteboard and began to sketch. Her hand moved with practiced precision as she drew the modified intake system, calculating the fluid dynamics in real time and writing the thermal load equations beside the drawing.
She worked for ten minutes in silence. The only sounds were the squeak of the marker and the hum of the servers.
She finished and capped the marker. “This integrates with your existing turbine. It saves you forty pounds of weight and solves the heat problem.”
Sterling stood before the board with his arms crossed, rocking back on his heels. He nodded slowly. “This is… elegant. It looks like Sophia’s work.”
Isolde stiffened slightly. She kept her face neutral. “I’m a fan of her papers.”
Sterling looked at her sideways, his eyes sharp. “Vanguard wants this tech. But Carson Dynamics is small. And I hear you have financial trouble — InnoTech is circling you like vultures.”
“We are lean,” Isolde corrected. “And we are hungry. InnoTech is bloated with Lancaster money. They move slow. I move fast.”
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