The applause still echoed in Lucy's ears long after the press conference ended. She stood backstage, adrenaline fading, her heartbeat finally beginning to slow. The crowd's roar, the flashing cameras, the pride in her voice—it had all felt surreal. Almost like justice.
Almost.
Tessa was already pulling up celebratory memes on her phone, trying to show Lucy a TikTok edit someone made of her USB mic-drop moment. Cole, off to the side, whispered intently with one of the lawyers who'd helped her refute ByteBetter's claims. Everyone around her was buzzing. Energized. Triumphant.
Everyone except Lucy.
She stared ahead, past the bright camera rigs and security badges, toward nothing in particular. Her expression was unreadable.
Something was wrong.
