Lisa sat in her hospital bed, poking at the nd, tasteless food on her tray while half-watching some mindless reality TV show. She still couldn''t believe she''d been transferred to a VIP room. The luxury upgrade was nice, but it hade out of nowhere. She had a sneaking suspicion that Alex was behind it, probably as a thank-you for saving ire. Not that Lisa wasining-she might as well enjoy the perks while she could. Just as she was about to change the channel, the door to her room burst open, and in walked her mother, looking like she''d aged a decade in worry.


    "Lisa!" her mother eximed, rushing to her side. "Are you okay? I heard about the fire! I was so worried!"


    Lisa rolled her eyes and popped another piece of fruit into her mouth. "I''m fine, Mum," she replied, her voice dripping with boredom. "Nothing to freak out about."


    Her mother''s brow furrowed as she leaned in closer. "Are you still mad at me? Is that what this is about? You''re still upset about our fight?"


    Lisa turned to her mother, her expression turning icy. "You mean the fight where you left me to rot in jail and didn''t even lift a finger to help? Yeah, I might still be a little mad about that."


    Her mother sighed, frustration etched into her features. "Lisa, I told you, that was your fault. The whole n went haywire because you decided to pull that stupid suicide stunt! What were you thinking?"


    Lisa scoffed, her attention drifting back to the TV. "Whatever, Mum. You always have an excuse."


    "It''s not an excuse!" her mother shot back, her voice rising. "You don''t understand how tight money is! I couldn''t bail you out even if I wanted to! And honestly, you brought that mess on yourself."


    "Yeah, well," Lisa muttered, keeping her eyes glued to the screen, "I''m not interested in your lectures right now."


    The room fell into an ufortable silence, broken only by the faint sounds of the TV. Lisa''s mother stood there for a moment, looking like she wanted to say more, but in the end, she just shook her head and left the room.


    The next morning, ire was already back at the office, much to Matthew''s dismay. He had practically begged her to stay home and rest, but ire had too much on her te to take it easy. Sure, she had almost died from poison a few days ago, and just yesterday, she was nearly roasted in a fire, but that wasn''t going to stop her from handling business.


    As she sat at her desk, ire couldn''t help but let her mind wander. The timing of the fire was too suspicious to ignore. It had to be connected to the person who had tried to kill her. But every time she tried to piece it together, her head started to pound, and she quickly decided to shove the thoughts aside. She had more pressing matters to deal with right now.


    She opened herptop and started going through her emails. The usual pile of messages greeted her, but one, in particr, caught her eye. As she read it, her heart sank.


    The Japanese roboticspany she had been in talks with had changed their mind. They were pulling out of the partnership with Metacortex.


    "Great," ire muttered under her breath. "Just what I needed."


    ire leaned back in her chair, frustration bubbling just beneath the surface. She had dealt with her fair share of setbacks, but today seemed to be a never-ending stream of them. With a sigh, she picked up her phone and dialed Sandra''s extension. "Sandra, could youe to my office?" ire asked, trying to keep her voice steady.


    Sandra walked in a momentter, a look of concern on her face. "Is everything okay? Do you need something?"All rights ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "Yeah, unfortunately," ire said, rubbing her temples. "The Japanese roboticspany we were counting on just bailed. They don''t want to partner up with Metacortex anymore."


    Sandra''s eyes widened slightly. "What? Why?"


    ire shrugged, annoyance creeping into her tone. "Timing, they said. Something about how they can''t meet our deadlines or some other excuse."


    Sandra pursed her lips, thinking. "So, what''s next? Should we start looking for other roboticspanies?"


    ire nodded, her mind already racing with possibilities. "Yes, that''s exactly what we need to do. I need you to help me list all the well-known roboticspanies and send it to me as soon as possible. We need to contact them immediately." Sandra didn''t waste a second. "I''m on it," she said, turning on her heel and heading back to her desk.


    It didn''t take long before Sandra returned with a sheet of paper in hand. "Here you go," she said, handing it to ire. "Sixpanies, all reputable, all within the same field."


    "Thanks, Sandra," ire said, already scanning the list. She wasted no time dialing the first number.


    As the phone rang, ire tapped her pen against the desk, trying to keep her frustration at bay. When a man finally answered, she introduced- herself with her usual confidence. "Hello, this is ire, the CEO of Metacortex. I''m calling to discuss a


    potential partnership."


    The man on the other end seemed surprised, but polite. "Ah, hello, ire. A pleasure to speak with you. What kind of partnership are you thinking?"


    ire exined the situation, emphasizing the urgency. "I know this is a bit sudden, and I apologize for that, but we''re on a tight schedule. We need the projectpleted within three months."


    There was a pause before the man spoke again, his tone regretful. "Three months? I''m afraid that''s just too short a timeframe to build three robots to your specifications. I''m sorry, but we can''tmit to that."


    ire thanked him politely, though


    inwardly she was fuming. She


    moved on to the nextpany, and the next, and the next. Each call yed out the same way-interest at first, followed by apologies when the short timeline was mentioned. By the time she got to thestpany on the list, ire was nearing the end of her patience.


    "Is building a robot really that hard?" she muttered to herself as she dialed the final number.


    Just as she expected, the answer was the same. Too little time, too many constraints. ire hung up the phone with a sigh, frustration now a full-blown storm inside her. She stared at the list ofpanies on her desk, feeling like she''d hit a brick wall. At that moment, the door to her office opened, and Matthew walked in.


    ire perked up slightly, hoping for some good news. "Did you find anything?"


    Matthew shook his head, his expression grim. "Not much. I overheard the police saying they''re still looking for evidence, but they haven''t found anything yet. The fire was too thorough."


    ire slumped back in her chair, the weight of the day''s failures pressing down on her. "It feels like everything''s falling apart," she muttered.


    Matthew, ever the optimist, leaned forward. "Hey, we''re not giving up. We''ll keep investigating. We''ll find something."


    ire nodded, appreciating his determination, but her frustration lingered. Matthew noticed and tilted his head. "You look like something else is bothering you. What''s going on?"


    ire sighed, running a hand


    through her hair. "It''s the robotics


    el?


    on us because the timeframe was too short, so I called six otherpanies, and they all said the same thing. No one can build what


    we need in three months


    Matthew leaned back in his chair, thinking for a moment. Then, with a shrug, he suggested, "Why don''t we build the robots ourselves?"