years of investment. My company, a leader in the tech industry, had poured resources into two prodigies, Sarah and Emily. I

ey del

they were both heading to MIT, the same top-tier program I was set on attending. One was a coding genius, the other a robotics whiz. They were supposed to be my future partner

from my father's assistant, a notifi

both chosen to def

crolled through the competition' s lower-tier results, looking for a reason, any reason at all. And then I found it. They had re-en

smatic but unremarkable developer from a humble

ir faces lit by a shared screen. They looked up as

he news?" Sarah asked

one level. "I also see you've re-enrolled in t

"It's a new challenge, Ethan. We want to t

a step backward. A massive one. You're throwing away a guaranteed future at

of support my family had given them, of the future they were about to destroy. I opene

ords neve

right in front of my face. It was translucent, blue, and hu

l conspire to lose his competition entry, causing him to trip

, stark and unwavering. Another line of text appear

ho obstructs the plot wi

yself on a brightly lit stage, my name being called. I saw Sarah and Emily in the wings, a shared, cold look on their faces. I saw a cable stre

ture. My career. These two, who had been raised on my family' s money and resourc

nd forced a neutral ex

, the words feeling like ash in my mou

a quick, triu

than," Sarah said, her smile

edge tech, the private servers, and the proprietary algorithms they had been using for years, they were not p