Never Mistake a Queen for a Lapdog novel Chapter 212

It was Bianca herself who popped the champagne. Amid a flurry of applause, she poured the sparkling wine, filling glass after glass as it cascaded down the crystal tower.

The top glass, of course, was hers.

The rest were distributed by the event hostess to the crowd below.

Only when everyone held their glasses did Bianca raise hers high, her eyes shining.

She thanked the guests for coming, and with the poise of a victor, announced the unveiling of SkyMind’s latest user data.

This was the moment she’d been waiting for—the moment she’d designed herself. She wanted to reveal SkyMind’s latest download numbers right here at the launch party, in front of everyone.

SkyMind had launched with a major publicity push, and Bianca’s confidence was unshakeable. She could already envision the thunderous applause she’d receive.

But the instant she revealed the leaderboard, the energy in the room collapsed. Instead of excitement, a suffocating silence filled the air.

It was so quiet, it was almost eerie.

Bianca hesitated. Had everyone been stunned by SkyMind’s numbers? Not impossible—SkyMind had shot to the top of the app charts just three days after launch. She checked the data every day. That was why she was so sure.

“Let’s raise our glasses, everyone,” she called out again, trying to rally the room.

But below her, the crowd looked at one another. No one so much as lifted their glass.

Bianca finally realized something was wrong. She spun around to look at the projection screen.

When she saw the name at the top of the leaderboard, her face drained of color.

How could InnoCore be number one?

Her hand began to shake; champagne sloshed over the rim of her glass.

Seth, ever quick on the uptake, rushed to cut the feed and switched the screen.

But the damage was done, right there in front of the crowd and the assembled media.

Even the guests began murmuring among themselves.

“That InnoCore launch—is that the same InnoCore that just topped the download charts?”

“It is! I just checked. InnoCore’s only been out for three hours and it’s already number one! SkyMind took three days to get there. And InnoCore barely did any publicity—just word-of-mouth in the AI community. Those numbers are the real deal!”

“I always thought SkyMind’s numbers were inflated—must have spent a fortune…”

“Shhh, keep it down…”

“Isn’t this a bit like popping the champagne halfway through the game? What a waste of good wine.”

In the midst of it all, the Forrests sat in the front row, catching every word of the guests’ chatter.

Yvonne’s expression darkened. She’d been so eager to show off her daughter’s achievements—she’d already let slip in her social circle that Bianca was behind a major new project. The other women were envious, wishing their daughters were half as talented.

She’d even arranged a small private celebration for Bianca, invitations sent, waiting only for this event to end before making their grand entrance.