The office was cold and sterile, much like the woman who sat across from Adrian Kane. She was beautiful, yes, but her eyes held no warmth anymore. Adrian adjusted his simple grey shirt and waited. He had been expecting this for weeks now, but hope had kept him from accepting it fully."Adrian, we need to talk about our marriage," Victoria Sterling said, her voice as sharp as a blade. She was the CEO of Sterling Corporation, and she spoke to him the way she spoke to her employees—with authority and little patience.Adrian had loved this woman for five years. They had been married for three of those years. When Victoria's family business was on the verge of collapse, he had been there. He had given her advice, helped her make the right decisions, and supported her through endless nights of work. Her success was their success, or at least that was what he had believed."I'm listening," Adrian said quietly."I want a divorce." Victoria didn't waste time with pleasantries. She slid a thick

Adrian couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. He took a deliberate route through the city, doubling back several times, until he was certain he had lost the black car. His mind was spinning with questions, but one thing was clear—he needed to find out what was on that USB drive.He couldn't go home. That would be the first place they would look. He needed somewhere safe, somewhere unexpected. After thirty minutes of careful navigation, Adrian found himself outside a small internet café in the older part of town. The kind of place where tourists came to check their email, where the security cameras were outdated, and where nobody paid attention to the customers.He rented a computer in the back corner, paid in cash, and inserted the USB drive with trembling hands. What appeared on the screen made him gasp.There were hundreds of files—medical reports, bank statements, photographs, and videos. Adrian started with the medical files. They were his mother's blood work from the six mo

Adrian spent the next week preparing. He couldn't do this alone. He needed people he could trust, and more importantly, he needed inside information about Sterling Tower's security system.That's when he remembered someone from his past—David Park, a former hacker who had gone legitimate years ago. David now worked as a cybersecurity consultant for major corporations. Adrian had known him through a mutual friend, and they had stayed in loose contact.Adrian used a secure line to call David, being deliberately vague about what he needed. But David was smart enough to understand that something serious was happening. They arranged to meet at a place where neither of them would be easily recognized—a gaming arcade in the entertainment district."Adrian, you look like you've been through hell," David said, sliding into the seat next to him. They were playing a racing game, though neither was really focused on it."I need your help," Adrian said quietly. "And I need you to understand that w

The next week was a blur of planning and preparation. Adrian worked with David and Thomas to finalize their strategy for breaking into Sterling Tower. Victoria provided them with security codes and floor plans. She also gave Adrian access to her father's daily schedule, which showed that Dr. Sterling would be away from the office on a specific afternoon—the perfect window for their operation.Adrian also did something else that he hadn't told anyone about. He arranged for a journalist named Sarah Chen—an investigative reporter known for her integrity—to wait for his signal. When Adrian sent the signal, Sarah would publish everything, creating a media storm that would make it difficult for the Sterlings to cover things up.The day of the infiltration arrived. Adrian was nervous, but he had prepared as well as he could. David was stationed in a van outside Sterling Tower with his laptop, ready to hack into the building's security systems the moment they needed him. Thomas was inside, po

The Sterling Tower ballroom was being set up for the launch event when Adrian and his team arrived. There were only a few staff members around, setting up tables and arranging the flowers. David's hacking of the access codes worked perfectly—they were waved through security without any questions.Thomas led them to a service corridor that would allow them to move through the building without being seen. They split up according to the plan. Marcus and David headed to the control room where they would monitor the security cameras and maintain communication with the team. Victoria and Thomas went to prepare their parts of the operation. Adrian made his way to Dr. Sterling's private office.The office was exactly as Adrian remembered it from the break-in, except now Adrian had time to look around properly. He found photographs on the walls—images of Dr. Sterling with prominent politicians, judges, and business leaders. Images that confirmed what Victoria had suggested: Dr. Sterling's corr