Stratagems #11: Lena Watched Her Own AI Platform Get Cut. An Ember Stayed.

Better to sacrifice a part to preserve the whole.

— The 36 Stratagems, Sacrifice the Plum Tree to Preserve the Peach Tree

Previously on this series: #10: Lena Watched a Team Adopt Her AI Template. Leo Didn't Know the Knife Was in the Contract. — Lena joined CoreStack as a consultant to help Leo build his reporting system. He thought she was there to help. Five weeks later, he realized the contract he signed wasn't just a template renewal — six months of data baselines were already locked inside the VeriTest framework.

Meanwhile, the CoreStack consulting engagement was still running, and VeriTest's internal AI evaluation platform had already gone live — but today, Lena was dealing with her own company's business.

Marcus Reed walked into the office and set the folder on Lena's desk. The cover read "VeriTest AI Evaluation Platform · Q3 Review."