Chapter 42 - Before the Results
The final morning arrived clear and bright.
Students gathered inside the main auditorium hours before the awards ceremony.
Excitement filled the room.
Some teams rehearsed acceptance speeches.
Others joked that simply reaching the finals already felt like winning.
Alex sat with Emma near the back.
He seemed unusually calm.
"Nervous?" she asked.
"A little."
"About the results?"
He smiled.
"About everything after the results."
Emma understood.
Whether they won or not, people would expect more.
More projects.
More presentations.
More responsibility.
Coach Daniels joined them carrying breakfast sandwiches.
"No engineering discussions for at least ten minutes."
Emma laughed.
"Is that an official rule?"
"It is now."
Across the auditorium, Investigator Bennett quietly met with Security Supervisor Moreno.
The review of surveillance footage had produced one more clue.
The unidentified individual had entered the building using a temporary access pass.
Only twelve such passes had been issued.
Organizers were now verifying each one.
Progress was slow.
But it was progress.
Rebecca Collins also attended the ceremony, notebook in hand.
Unlike other reporters, she wasn't focused solely on first place.
She wanted to understand how students collaborated under pressure.
How mentors guided them.
How innovation emerged from persistence rather than perfection.
As the auditorium lights dimmed, Professor Chen stepped onto the stage.
"Before we announce this year's awards," she began, "I'd like to recognize something we witnessed throughout this competition."
She looked across hundreds of students.
"Engineering isn't only about solving technical problems."
"It's about improving people's lives."
Applause echoed through the hall.
Alex glanced toward Version 15 displayed near the stage entrance.
Months earlier, it had been just another sketch inside a notebook.
Now it had become part of a much larger journey.
Just as Professor Chen prepared to announce the first category, an event coordinator hurried onto the stage and quietly handed her a folded note.
She read it once.
Her expression changed ever so slightly.
The audience noticed.
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No one yet knew whether the note concerned the awards...
Or the ongoing investigation that had followed the competition from its very first day.
