Chapter 337: A Victory to Behold
The door opened with a soft click, and Anthony stepped back into the room, his professional composure intact but his eyes bright with barely contained excitement. The moment he saw me sitting upright in the chair, a genuine smile broke across his face.
"Congratulations, Boss," he said, his voice carrying a warmth that went beyond mere professional courtesy. "Thirty-four votes. You did it!"
I managed a weak smile in return, though the effort felt more taxing than it should have. "We did it," I corrected, gesturing toward both him and Evelyn. "I couldn’t have gotten here without either of you."
Anthony’s expression shifted as he took in my condition more carefully. Even sitting down, it was probably obvious that something was seriously wrong. My posture was too careful, too measured. Similar to the way that someone moves when they’re not entirely sure their body will cooperate.
"How are you holding up?" he asked, though from his tone it was clear he already suspected the answer wasn’t good.
"I’ll manage," I said, which was becoming my standard non-answer to that question. "But we should leave. Now. Before anyone realizes..."
I didn’t need to finish the sentence. Anthony understood immediately. The last thing we needed was for word to spread that I was physically compromised or that my System could be turned off in certain scenarios. Political opponents would have a field day with that information, and even supporters might begin to question whether someone who couldn’t function without System assistance was really the right choice to lead a movement toward reduced System dependence.
"Already ahead of you," Anthony said, pulling out his phone. "I’ll call for pickup. We can use the side exit and avoid the main crowd entirely."
As he made the call, I tried to stand, immediately regretting the decision as my legs threatened to give out again. Evelyn was beside me instantly, her hand finding my arm with a kind of practiced ease.
"Easy," she murmured, her voice low enough that Anthony couldn’t hear over his phone conversation. "Don’t push it. Last thing I need is a lecture from Sienna about you getting injured."
I leaned more heavily on her than I wanted to admit, grateful for her steady presence. There was something comforting about having someone who understood what I was going through, even if her vision impairment was completely different from my problem.
Anthony ended his call and turned back to us. "Car will be here in three minutes. Black limo, pulling up to the service entrance on the east side of the building."