Alina’s arms slowly dropped to her sides. Her eyes flicked to Carl, then back to Eric. Confusion swirled in her gaze, battling against the rising dread curling in her stomach.“But surely they must know the Bowens built the Veil,” she said, with a faltering voice. “You’d never—”“They don’t care what we built,” Eric snapped, the bite in his tone was sharper than she'd ever heard before. “Only what we might destroy. Or better still—what they perceive we can destroy.”His voice trembled slightly at the edges, not with fear, but something more dangerous—rage barely contained.“They froze us out,” Eric went on, pacing as if the motion could keep him from detonating. “They said we didn’t have the right signatures. Said protocols were changed without our knowledge. Every legal document we presented was rejected. They refused to release a cent. One hundred billion dollars—ours—all tied up in bureaucracy.”Alina blinked, her brain was trying to wrap itself around the figure. A hundred billio

The chaos that occurred in the Bowen data centre was a well known disaster but he had buried the main consequence of it for weeks now.He decided to push it, and to suppress it for as long as he could, but it hadn’t. It had festered, and now, the reality and gravity of the situation was staring back at him in the face.Like poison through a crack in the dam, the effect of that glitch in the Bowen data centre was spilling into everything.Carl turned a corner into one of the lower hallways, his pace was slowing only slightly. His breath came in shallow, strained pulls.He didn’t hear Alina behind him until she called his name.“Carl!”He froze.Her voice was closer than he expected. He turned slowly.She was standing at the end of the corridor, panting slightly. The soft light from the wall lamps caught in her hair, making it shimmer like wet silk.She approached cautiously, as though afraid he might bolt again.“Why did you leave?” she asked gently.Carl didn’t answer.“You looked te

Farouq Khyber stepped forward slowly, like a man who had all the time in the world. His eyes scanned the room with silent curiosity—not with awe, but with judgment. His movements were controlled, measured, deliberate.Carl Bowen motioned towards the chair across from his desk.“Have a seat, please,” he said.Farouq gave another small nod and walked to the chair, his polished black shoes made soft sounds against the marble floor. He sat down carefully, not slouching, not relaxing, but sitting with quiet power. One leg crossed over the other. His back was straight. His hands rested gently on his knee.Carl walked back to his own side of the desk and sat down too. He made sure to move with calmness, though his heart was still beating faster than normal.“Would you like anything to drink?” Carl offered. “Tea? Coffee?”Farouq’s face remained unreadable. “No. Thank you.”His voice was smooth but cold, like water running over ice.Carl tried to smile, just a little, to ease the tension in

Farouq Khyber glanced at the heavy gold watch on his wrist. The ticking was soft but clear in the silent room. He looked up at Carl Bowen, who was still standing—face pale, eyes sharp, mind racing.“You should not take too long,” Farouq said quietly. “Time is not your friend right now.”Carl turned to him slowly, the weight of his breath was pushing out of his chest.“You expect me to decide now?” he asked. His voice was flat, but the tension behind it cracked like dry leaves under pressure. “You want me to make a decision this heavy... here, now, in this very moment?”Farouq nodded once. “Your time is going, Mr. Bowen. I won’t sit here all night waiting for you to wrestle with your conscience.”Carl’s face twisted into a deeper frown. “This isn’t a conscience decision. It’s a trap. And I don’t make life-and-death choices while standing under a blade.”Farouq folded his arms loosely, the faintest curve at the corner of his mouth suggested he found that statement amusing.Carl took a

Carl Bowen stood still, his phone pressed to his ear. The room was silent, save for the faint hum of the air conditioner. Across from him, Farouq Khyber remained seated, his eyes were fixed on Carl, a mixture of confusion and suspicion was etched on his face. On the other end of the line, Carla Bowen's voice trembled with disbelief. “Carl… Carl, oh my God! It’s there! Three billion! Carl, what’s happening? Where did this come from?”Carl closed his eyes briefly, the weight of the moment was pressing down on him. He took a deep breath, steadying himself. “It’s our lifeline,” he said softly. “It’s our way out.”Farouq Khyber's eyes widened. He slowly rose from his chair, his mouth opening slightly as if to speak, but no words came out. He looked at Carl, then at the phone, then back at Carl, his face was a mask of shock and disbelief. Carl turned slightly away from Farouq, focusing on his sister. “Carla, listen to me carefully. This money changes everything. We’re no longer at the m