“That's my voice, Preston,” I said. “I recorded that lesson three years ago, in my kitchen, for BrightPath's free library. It's on our website. Our terms say nobody can copy it or sell it.” The room was silent.

“There are seven lessons in your demo,” said Ben. “All seven are ours. Made by our teachers. You cut our logo off the start of every one.”

Preston's co-founder turned to him.

“Preston,” he said slowly. “You told me you licensed those.”

Preston's face was going red.

“They were… publicly available,” he said. “Free content. On the internet. Everyone does it. It's just placeholder stuff for the demo.”

“It's not placeholder stuff,” I said. “It's a teacher in Ohio who recorded algebra lessons at midnight after grading a hundred papers. It's a teacher in Texas who made a geometry series for kids who can't afford tutoring. It's me, explaining pizza.”

I closed the folder.

“Teachers made your product, Preston. The same teachers you say are going to be obsolete.”

Nobody spoke for a long moment.

Then Ben said quietly, “Our lawyers will be in touch about the lessons. We'll need them taken down by Friday.”