CHAPTER EIGHT — THE INVESTORS
The investors arrived shortly after five in a dark blue rental car.
They were not the intimidating corporate raiders Ethan had imagined.
One was a former harbor engineer named Valerie Shaw, who wore practical shoes and carried a tablet.
The other was a soft-spoken manufacturer named Colin Mercer, who asked immediately whether they could see the pool.
Oliver met them at the door before Ethan reached the hallway.
“We have had a minor contamination problem,” Oliver announced.
“Our host’s neighbor had an unfortunate episode.”
Carol stood near the kitchen and heard him.
She stepped forward.
“I dumped the material,” she said.
Valerie looked surprised.
“Why would you do that?”
“Because I wanted Ethan to have the pool drained.”
“Why?”
Carol opened her mouth, but Ethan raised a hand.
“There’s a broken prototype component under the drain grate,” he said.
“We discovered it three days ago.”
“Whose prototype?” Colin asked.
“That’s one of the questions we need answered.”
Oliver cut in.
“We’re experiencing a misunderstanding with student participants.”
“Then let the participants explain,” Valerie replied.
Ms. Rios brought Priya, Mateo, Nell, and Sam into the living room.
The adults took chairs, while the students stood behind the coffee table with their notebooks and prototypes.
Priya began by showing the development of her team’s steering guard.
She explained what problem each version had solved and why they rejected several more complicated shapes.
Mateo described the cracked mount and the pencil mark beneath his silver tape.
Sam demonstrated a tiny camera platform that used ballast instead of propellers to change depth.
Nell explained how the orange machine had ignored her controller Thursday evening and broken its guard at the bottom of the pool.
Valerie listened without interruption.
When they finished, she asked a question that made Oliver shift in his chair.
“How much of your autonomous system uses student-developed components?”
“Our platform has been in development for two years,” Oliver replied.
“That’s not what I asked.”
“We incorporated some educational feedback.”
“Did you license those contributions?”
“Our participation agreement covers derivative work.”
Valerie read the version the parents had signed.
She scrolled through it carefully.
“It covers evaluation, demonstration, and publicity,” she said.
“I don’t see an assignment of intellectual property.”
Oliver produced the updated statement he had sent Ethan.
Valerie compared the dates.
“This was sent today.”
“It’s a clarification.”
“It is a significant change,” she replied.
Colin turned toward the students.
“Did you know the company intended to manufacture a machine based on these parts?”
Priya shook her head.
“We thought he was evaluating us for a contest.”
Mateo crossed his arms.
“He told us to focus on learning, not ownership.”
Colin looked at Oliver.
“You said your team developed the platform independently.”
“Our engineers integrated the final system,” Oliver said.
“Integration matters.”
“It does,” Valerie replied.
“So does telling people where the parts came from.”
Oliver stood.
“We can discuss licensing after the demo.”
“We can discuss it before any more money changes hands,” Valerie answered.
Her voice never rose.
Oliver seemed to find that more frightening than anger.
He looked toward Ethan.
“You have turned a youth competition into a business dispute.”
“I didn’t write the new ownership agreement,” Ethan replied.
“And I didn’t ask Nell to keep a secret.”
Oliver looked at the teenager.
“I asked her not to interfere with confidential testing.”
Nell met his eyes.
“You told me I could lose my future if I talked.”
The room became quiet.
Carol stepped beside Nell.
“That was the reason I came here today.”
She described the bucket, the compost, and her hope that draining the water would force the missing component into view.
“It was a foolish and destructive thing to do,” she said.
“I owe Ethan the cleaning costs.”
“You do,” Ethan replied.
Carol nodded.
“But I will not let my granddaughter carry the blame for my decision.”
Oliver said nothing.
Valerie turned off her tablet.
“I am not investing in this project tonight,” she said.
Colin nodded in agreement.
“Neither am I.”
Oliver’s face went pale.
“You’re walking away because of a plastic guard?”
“I’m postponing a decision because I can’t tell who you have been honest with,” Valerie replied.
Oliver left the living room without another word.
They heard him climb the stairs.
A bedroom door slammed above them.
Ethan expected relief to settle over the room.
Instead, everyone seemed uneasy.
The investors had not awarded anything to the children.
Oliver still controlled his company and his equipment.
The broken part was still underwater.
Saturday’s event was still uncertain.
The truth had become clearer, but no one could pretend the problem had ended.
