Neo pulled up a private browser. The kind that didn't keep logs. Didn't remember searches. Didn't leave traces.He'd been thinking about the thugs for days now. The three men who'd stabbed him. Who'd been hired to kill him.'They're still out there. Probably got paid already. Probably think the job's done.'But Neo had their faces. Had screenshots from the security footage. Had run them through facial recognition databases until he found matches.Vincent Torres. The tall one with the gun. Ex-military, dishonorable discharge. Assault charges dropped due to "insufficient evidence."Marcus Webb—no relation to Richard, thankfully. The one with the knife. Criminal record longer than his arm. Robbery, assault, extortion.And James "Jimmy" Park. The quiet one. The one who'd actually stabbed Neo. Drug charges. Gang affiliations. The kind of guy who'd do anything for the right price.'Desperate men. Dangerous men. Perfect.'Neo downloaded an encrypted messaging app. The kind criminals used. Th

He typed out the instructions. Drop location. Pickup location. Timeline. Payment details.[Payment upon completion. Crypto. Untraceable. Don't fuck this up.]Vincent: [We won't.]Neo hoped not. He needed them competent. Needed them reliable.Because if this test run worked—if they proved themselves—then he'd have the muscle for phase four.The revenge phase.–––––––––––In her tiny apartment, Lyra stared at her phone.Douglas Carver's threat echoed in her head. "Our lawyers will be in touch."She should've been scared. Should've been backing down.Instead, she felt energized.'They're rattled. Which means I'm onto something.'She pulled up her conspiracy board. Added new notes. Douglas's call. His specific language. Mark's warning about digging deeper.'What are they hiding? It's not just insurance fraud. There's something else. Something bigger.'Her phone buzzed. Email notification.Subject: "Re: Bellvue Article"Sender: AnonymousLyra's finger hovered over it.'Could be spam. Could

Adam knocked on Neo's office door.Well, not Neo's office. The empty office Neo rented two floors above Ames Digital. The one with no name on the door. The one Adam thought belonged to "Mr. Ames, Senior Partner.""Come in," Neo said. Voice modulator app running on his phone. Made him sound older. More authoritative.Adam entered. Nervous energy. Smoothing his tie."Sir, the team's making excellent progress. The trading algorithms are performing above projected returns.""Good. Hiring?""Three more interviews this week. We should be at full staff by month's end."Neo nodded. Kept his face angled away from the light. Hoodie up. Sunglasses on. Adam had never seen his face clearly."What about the building?""Building, sir?""For expansion. When we scale, we'll need dedicated space. I'm looking at the Meridian Tower."Adam's eyes widened. "That's—that's forty-plus million.""Forty-two. My offer's been accepted.""We're—we're buying it?""Phoenix Holdings is buying it. Ames Digital will le

"Ames Digital. They just announced a Series A. Fifty million valuation." Mark grabbed the tablet. Read. His jaw tightened. "Who the hell are they?" "That's what I want to know. They appeared out of nowhere. High-frequency trading. Crypto focus. Sound familiar?" "There are dozens of firms doing that." "Not ones that undercut our prices and poach our potential clients." Douglas paced. "Three deals we lost this month. All to Ames Digital. They're either incredibly lucky or—" "Or what?" "Or they know something we don't." Mark stared at the screen. Neo zoomed in on his expression. Suspicion. Paranoia. The gears turning. 'That's right, Mark. Wonder who they are. Wonder how they knew. Wonder if maybe, just maybe, someone's targeting you specifically.' "I'll look into it," Mark said finally. "See who's behind them." "Already tried. Ownership structure's a maze. Shell companies and offshore trusts. Very deliberate." "So they're hiding something." "Or they're smart ab

Neo pulled up the Helix Coin whitepaper. Third revision. Getting closer.'Needs to sound revolutionary without being too technical. Mark understands just enough to be dangerous. That's the sweet spot.'He typed."Helix utilizes quantum-resistant lattice-based cryptography combined with AI-optimized transaction routing. This creates a self-healing blockchain immune to traditional attack vectors."'Bullshit. Complete bullshit. But impressive-sounding bullshit.'The key wasn't making it real. The key was making it believable.And for that, he needed proof of concept.Neo pulled up three different crypto exchanges. Set up accounts on each. Moved small amounts between them, exploiting price differences.Basic arbitrage. Nothing revolutionary. But when wrapped in fancy terminology—'Cross-exchange quantum optimization.'He documented everything. Screenshots. Transaction histories. Profit margins.A thousand dollars became thirteen hundred in forty minutes.Thirty percent returns.'That'll g