A Royal Feast and a Public Humiliation

The scent of success was sweeter than any dessert Anika had ever made. It was the scent of a plan meticulously crafted, of a partnership forged in fire, and of a victory about to be won. For the past week, Anika had sat at her desk in the commercial kitchen, her voice a soothing, calm stream of misinformation that was being funneled directly into the bug Aditya had planted. She had crafted a fake recipe so flawed, so spectacularly doomed to fail, that it would not just destroy a product but would destroy a reputation. Vikram, for his part, had been the silent, strategic partner, moving funds, securing fake contracts, and setting the stage for their grand performance. Their collaboration was seamless, a beautiful, terrifying dance of deception that had them both feeling more alive than ever before.