: Sorry CEO The call came just before midnight. Jude was still in his office, suit jacket draped over a chair, screens glowing with stock charts and legal documents. When the phone buzzed, he didn’t move at first. He’d been expecting another bad headline, not relief. “Mr. Devlin,” Detective Lawson’s voice came through, lower and calmer than usual. “I wanted you to hear this before it leaks. The medical examiner’s report just came in.” Jude straightened. “And?” “It wasn’t poisoning. No trauma. Cause of death: acute cardiac arrest due to pre-existing heart disease.” For a moment, the room fell completely still. The hum of the air-conditioning filled the silence. “You’re sure?” Jude asked. “Positive,” Lawson replied. “Toxicology’s clean. The stress of whatever meeting he had that night probably triggered it. We’ll close the criminal inquiry soon, but don’t celebrate yet—Mrs. Hartman’s complaint doesn’t die with this. She can still pursue a negligence angle.” “I understan

CHAPTER Thirteen — WILDfire & FUSIONThe city had never seen a company rise like WILD. Within six months, its headquarters became a landmark—towering sheets of glass lit by a shifting neon W that pulsed like a heartbeat over the skyline. The world watched the Devlin twins bend the financial system into something faster, sharper, hungrier. The market’s inertia broke. Old companies scrambled. Governments tightened regulations only for WILD’s lawyers to slice through them with surgical precision.But inside that shining tower, cracks formed.The shareholders whispered. Senior staff watched uneasily as Jude and Dave stopped entering meetings together. Every corridor buzzed with rumors—some too ridiculous to believe, others too sharp to ignore. The brothers’ partnership had been forged in fire, but success had poured gasoline on old rivalries.WILD’s engine, EMBER, performed almost too well. Some analysts claimed it was destabilizing certain markets with its uncanny forecasting speed. Poli

CHAPTER Fifteen: DIVIDED EMPIRESThe first signs of Fusion’s African expansion were subtle. There were no grand announcements, no photo ops, no banners fluttering across international airports. Dave had learned that true influence rarely needed noise. Instead, it began with private meetings in nondescript boardrooms, strategic consultations with local authorities, and carefully structured memoranda outlining Fusion’s capacity to deliver industrial solutions without disrupting governance.Nigeria was the first test. The Lagos Industrial Corridor, a sprawling network of ports, refineries, and energy plants, had grown increasingly chaotic over the last decade. Transport inefficiencies, intermittent power supply, and logistical bottlenecks threatened both domestic and foreign investors. Fusion’s pitch was simple: a fully integrated logistics solution combining modular power systems, predictive energy distribution, and industrial mobility units capable of serving multiple sites simultaneou

CHAPTER Seventeen: THE PRICE OF MOMENTUM Spain had not been on Fusion’s original expansion roadmap. The company’s European focus was intended to revolve around Eastern Europe and the Nordic industrial belts—regions eager for modern infrastructure, lean mobility optimization, and scalable industrial-energy solutions. But an unexpected opportunity emerged when the Spanish Ministry of Industry released a public call for mobility modernization proposals across Catalonia, Valencia, and Andalusia. Dave studied the proposal the moment it appeared. “Spain is opening its manufacturing arteries,” he said, scanning the document line by line. “Their industrial zones are outdated, inefficient, and fragmented. They can’t afford full-price modernization right now.” Leila nodded. “The budget constraints are severe. They’ll choose the cheapest option.” Dave didn’t blink. “Then we give them the cheapest option.” Which is how Fusion launched one of the most daring corporate strategies of the yea

CHAPTER Nineteen — The Air Around PowerFusion had always been Dave’s creation.His machine.His weapon.But the global expansion—France, Spain, North Africa, the Gulf—was no longer a one-man undertaking. There were too many negotiations, too many regulators, too many international boards to charm or threaten. Dave had crossed fifty, still sharp, still relentless, but smart enough to know when to hand a steering wheel to the next generation.That was how his son, Michael Hart, stepped into the role of CEO.It happened quietly, without fireworks, without extravagant press releases. Fusion’s board approved the internal succession in a private session at the Lagos headquarters. The news leaked two days later, sending reporters scrambling but investors nodding with satisfaction.Since childhood, Michael had been groomed for the role—business schools, internships, shadowing Dave in meetings across continents. Unlike Jude’s children, who kept to the edges of Wild’s empire, Michael had alway