"Peter—we got it. We got BioLa."

I felt satisfaction settle in my chest. "Your father agreed to the other leverage structure I gave you that wasn't part of the main solutions?"

"Every single point you outlined." Papers rustled on her end. "The equity partnership model, the phased milestone payments tied to their FDA approval timeline, the performance-based fee escalation—he presented it exactly as you structured it. Darlus Construction couldn't match it. They were still operating on the traditional fixed-fee model."

"Of course they were. Darlus thinks in quarters, not decades. They never understood that BioLa's real value isn't the facility—it's positioning Torres Development as the premier builder for biotech research infrastructure on the West Coast."

"Which is exactly what Daddy realized when you laid it out." Madison's voice dropped slightly. "Peter, they're projecting a minimum twenty-three percent ROI over the contract term. Twenty-three percent—on a $20 billion development. Do you understand what that means for our portfolio metrics?"

"$4.6 billion in profit, assuming no cost overruns and the milestone bonuses trigger on schedule." I leaned against the window. "But that's conservative. If BioLa hits their Phase III trial targets and exercises the campus expansion option in year three, you're looking at closer to thirty-five percent return. Call it $7 billion."

"Jesus Christ," she breathed. "You just calculated that in your head."

"ARIA calculated it. I just repeated it."

"Master is being modest," ARIA chimed in my ear. "He'd already run the expansion scenarios before I confirmed the figures."

Madison laughed—the professional laugh, the boardroom one. "My father agreed for me to be on the planning table this time. Not observing. Actually, contributing to strategy."

"About time. You've been ready for that since you met me."

"He gave me a challenge, though." Her tone shifted—half excitement, half nerves. "A test, really. He handed me the complete BioLa brief—site requirements, program specs, budget parameters, timeline constraints, sustainability mandates—everything. And he wants a comprehensive project development plan. The full package."

I straightened. This was it—the opportunity I'd been preparing her for.

"Define comprehensive."

"Site acquisition strategy with comparative analysis of at least three locations. Master plan for five hundred thousand square feet—research labs, vivarium facilities, collaboration zones, amenities. Architectural program with space allocation and adjacency diagrams. Construction phasing plan with critical-path analysis.

"Cost estimation with contingency modeling. Risk assessment and mitigation. Sustainability framework targeting LEED Platinum minimum, ideally net-zero operational carbon within five years."

She delivered it flawlessly—my training, word for word.

"Timeline?"

"Two weeks."

"Aggressive but manageable. What's the real objective?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your father's not testing whether you can draft a plan. He's testing whether you think strategically—whether you can see the gap between what BioLa says they want and what they actually need. What's his angle?"

Silence—then the sound of gears turning behind her calm.

"He thinks I'll over-engineer it," she said finally. "BioLa's procurement team obsesses over cost per square foot and timeline to occupancy. But their C-suite cares about attracting top research talent and projecting innovation leadership. Competing priorities."

"Good. Keep going."

"If I optimize for cost, we build something competent but forgettable. If I chase prestige, we blow the budget and the CFO kills the deal before groundbreaking."

"So what's the solution?"

"I have to find the leverage points—the twenty percent of design decisions that generate eighty percent of perceived value. Architectural moments that photograph well and recruit Nobel winners, while keeping everything else ruthlessly efficient."

I smiled. "Now you're thinking like a developer."

"I learned from the best." Her voice softened. "Peter, I need your help with this. I know Daddy gave it to me, but—"

"We're doing this together," I cut her off. "You, me, and ARIA. That was always the plan."

"Are you sure? I don't want you to think I can't—"

"Madison. Stop." My voice stayed firm, but warm. "This was my idea and I will take full responsibility; I'm grooming you to run Torres Development better than your father ever did. Better than your grandfather ever dreamed. You're going to be the heiress who turns a national player into a international powerhouse.

"But that doesn't happen by tossing you in the deep end alone. It happens by teaching you everything—architecture, development, construction economics, strategic positioning. This project? It's your graduate program, compressed into two weeks."

"Okay." She exhaled. "Okay. Where do we start?"

"ARIA, pull up the BioLa brief Madison sent last evening. Display the site-requirements matrix."

"Already loaded, Master. Displaying now."

I put on my quantum glasses and they lit up—data streaming across the lenses: site parameters, zoning constraints, infrastructure maps, talent-pool demographics, incentive packages across potential jurisdictions.

"Madison, open your laptop. I'm sending a secure link to our workspace. ARIA's initializing the collaborative environment now."

"Got it. Opening." The sound of rapid keystrokes followed. "Oh my God… this interface—this is real-time 4D modeling with live parametric cost feedback?"

"Custom build," I said, already walking toward the study. The lights dimmed automatically as ARIA synced across the room's displays. "ARIA's architecture engine can simulate full design iterations and cost implications on demand. Every decision modeled, every dollar accounted for."

"Unbelievable," she murmured.

Madison was silent for a long moment. Then she whispered, "That's… brilliant. We turn the environmental liability into a barrier to entry. Complexity as advantage."

I nodded. "That's the point. Risk isn't a deterrent—it's camouflage for opportunity."

"ARIA," I said, "pull up last hour's plan."

The hologram shifted again. Three buildings appeared—precise, elegant, surrounded by a central green spine. Subsurface parking faded into view.

"The main research building," I narrated, "three hundred twenty thousand square feet. BSL-2 and BSL-3 labs, vivarium, imaging core, and high-containment facilities. Everything critical clustered for mechanical efficiency and operational flow."

"Building Two," ARIA continued in her clear synthetic voice, "one hundred twenty thousand square feet of collaboration and amenity spaces—cafeteria, fitness center, auditorium, and informal meeting zones."

"That's your retention play," I added. "Lifestyle integration for recruitment."

Madison nodded, eyes sharp. "And Building Three?"

"Sixty thousand square feet of shell space. We frame and weatherproof it now—leave the interior open. Future expansion or rapid deployment swing space, depending on growth velocity."

"Three buildings gives us phasing flexibility," she said quietly, more to herself than to me.

"Exactly. We control timing, cost exposure, and tenant mix. And once the remediation's certified, we reappraise at clean land value. On paper, BioLa's net worth jumps by nine figures overnight."

Her eyes met mine. "And that's the moment we move from vision to dominance."

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