Across from him, leaning casually against a polished conference table, stood Victor Langston—a wealthy tech investor known for his sharp wit and even sharper intellect. He was hosting a private innovation showcase, filled with engineers, linguists, and scholars invited to demonstrate rare abilities.

Lucas wasn’t on the guest list.

He’d come with his mother, the cleaning woman, who had nowhere else to leave him after school.

Victor glanced at the paper in Lucas’s hands—a document printed in dense, unfamiliar script.

“What is that?” Victor asked, amused.

Lucas swallowed. “It’s… it’s a contract. I think. Written in several languages.”

Victor chuckled. “Son, some of the brightest translators in this room couldn’t handle that.”

Lucas hesitated, then spoke softly. “I think I can.”

The laughter returned—louder this time.