The elevator chimed.Adrian Cole stepped out, holding a bag of groceries in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other…..He wore the same vintage Jessica had once called her favourite. He’d spent the entire day thinking of how to surprise her. After everything—her distant behavior, the sleepless nights—he’d hoped tonight would reset things.The penthouse door was slightly open.He frowned.Jessica was meticulous. She never left the door open.“Jess?” he called gently, pushing it open with his shoulder.What he saw stole his breath.Clothes gone…..tangled sheets. Moaning.Michael and Jessica.His best friend and his wife. Adrian stood in the doorway, shocked, as groceries fell to the floor. The wine bottle broke, sending red liquid across the marble like blood. Jessica screamed first and held the sheets to her chest. Michael just sat up slowly, running a hand through his tousled hair, not a trace of shame in his eyes. "Bro." "Almost amused," Michael said. "I never imagined you would re

The alley behind the bar smelled like old beer and gasoline.Tasha Reid stood beneath the flickering light, arms crossed, her breath fogging in the late-night chill. She hadn’t changed much since Eleanor Cole’s funeral—still sharp, still unreadable.Adrian kept his voice low. “You were one of her last contacts. Tell me what you know.”She studied him for a long second. “I thought you were dead.”“Close enough.”Tasha glanced around, then motioned for him to follow. “Not here.”————-They walked three blocks in silence before stopping at a quiet rooftop café. The city lights stretched out below them like stars trapped in glass.“I owed your mother everything,” Tasha said, sliding her coffee across the table. “But after she died, I cut ties with the Cole family. Or what was left of it.”“She left me a system,” Adrian said. “In my head. It speaks.”Tasha didn’t flinch. “Then it activated.”“You knew?”She leaned back. “Project Silence. Eleanor’s final work. A neuro-emotional A.I. Designe

The café was tucked into a side street near the river, quiet enough for secrets but not too empty to look suspicious.Adrian sat at a corner table, watching the steam curl from his untouched coffee. The system voice in his head was silent for once—like even it knew this meeting needed no distractions.The doorbell chimed.Tasha Reid walked in, blazer crisp, hair pinned back, her expression unreadable……she scanned the room once before walking toward him.He didn’t standShe didn’t offer her hand.Instead, she slid into the seat across from him, pulled out a folder, and dropped it on the table.“Benson Group. Internal ownership records. Updated as of this morning.”Adrian raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been busy.”“I had help.” Her eyes held his for a beat too long. “From someone who clearly isn’t as erased as they want to appear.”He said nothing.Tasha leaned forward slightly. “I know it’s you, Adrian. The shells. The sudden fund movements. The anonymous board seat request. I’ve been trac

“Confirmed,” the voice in Adrian’s ear said. “That’s the last signature. The debt is yours.”He didn’t respond.From the rooftop terrace of an anonymous office building downtown, Adrian stared down at the skyline. The city glowed beneath him—high-rise towers like chess pieces, every window a secret, every floor a move waiting to be made.His phone buzzed. The system pulsed to life.System Notification: Mission Complete – Covert Debt Acquisition Phase IBenson Group Internal Debt Acquired: 3 Shells x 2.4% ownership eachTotal Stake Now: 18% (Undisclosed)He slipped the phone back into his coat.From this height, the Benson Group building looked smaller. Fragile.Like it could break apart with a single gust of wind.And Adrian was almost ready to blow.Downstairs, in a dim-lit boardroom, Jessica tried to keep her voice steady.“What do you mean the investors backed out?”Her assistant fumbled with papers. “Two pulled this morning. One filed to sell their stake… to a new buyer.”Jessica’

Jessica sat in the conference room, but she didn’t hear a word her legal team was saying.Her fingers tapped anxiously on the glossy table, a soft rhythm that betrayed the storm in her chest. Screens flickered across the wall—stock prices, news headlines, social media trends. All of it spelling one thing:Benson Group was in freefall.“…Ma’am,” her assistant whispered beside her. “We’ve just confirmed—three more investors pulled out this morning.”Jessica didn’t blink. “Who?”“Eastshore Partners, Platinum Ridge, and… Cayden Group.”She exhaled slowly. “All in one day.”The legal head cleared his throat. “There’s also been movement in the debt market. Someone’s buying up your corporate liabilities.”Jessica’s eyes snapped toward him.“What do you mean ‘someone’?”“They’re using multiple shell companies. Hidden identities. But it’s coordinated. Very strategic.”Her mouth went dry. She knew what this was.Not a hostile takeover.A silent war.And she was losing.Adrian sat in a high-rise