"Thank you." He stood, releasing her hand. "I should go. I have work to do tonight.""Tonight? It's almost three in the morning.""Best time to work. Everyone's asleep. Networks are quieter." He grabbed his jeans, pulling them on with quick, efficient movements. "I need to finalize the malware's trigger sequence. Make sure it detonates at exactly the right moment."Lyra watched him dress, her mind still processing everything. "When?""Five days." He pulled his shirt on, not bothering to button it. "That gives you time to prep your article, verify the sources, and line up your publication timeline. The arrest will happen on the 30th, early morning. I want your piece to go live within hours of the arrest.""That's cutting it close.""You can handle it." Not a question. A statement of fact.She should probably be offended by his presumption, but honestly? He was right. She could handle it."Fine. Five days." She pulled the sheet tighter around herself. "But I'm going to need more backgro

Another buzz. Different phone. The encrypted one.Unknown number: [Impressive work on the Carver boy. We should talk.]Neo frowned. Third message from an unknown contact this week.'Someone's paying attention. Too much attention.'He powered down the phone without responding and snapped the SIM card in half.'Whoever you are, you can wait. I've got bigger fish to fry.'–––––––––––The next morning came fast.Neo woke at six, made coffee, and pulled up the news feeds. Mark's bail hearing was trending on three different platforms.[BREAKING: Mark Carver denied bail, deemed flight risk][Carver family refuses to post bond for accused tech heir][Mark Carver's lawyer: "The family has abandoned him"]Neo's coffee tasted better than usual.His phone rang. Lyra."You seeing this?" she asked, voice tight with something that might've been excitement or guilt. Hard to tell."Yeah. Better than expected.""His lawyer's saying the family won't even visit him. Douglas released a statement calling M

Silence on the other end."I'm someone who has a very good reason to hate the Carver family," Neo said finally. "That's all you need to know.""That's not enough—""Adam. You're being paid very well to run Ames Digital. To be the face of the company. To handle situations exactly like the one you just handled. That's the job. If you can't do it, tell me now."Adam's jaw tightened. He thought about his failed startup. His maxed-out credit cards. His ex-wife's alimony payments.He thought about the $250,000 salary and the 5% equity stake."I can do it," he said quietly."Good. Then keep doing it. And Adam?""Yes, sir?""Thank you. For today. You handled that perfectly."The line went dead.Adam sat there for a long moment, staring at the earpiece in his palm.'What the hell have I gotten myself into?'–––––––––––Across town, Neo closed his laptop, exhaling slowly.'Too close. Way too close.'Lyra emerged from the bathroom, hair damp from a shower, wearing one of his shirts. "Everything

Neo called Adam ten minutes later."Sir," Adam answered immediately. "I was just about to contact you. We have—""I know. Detectives working under Reeves showed up at your office. Asking questions.""How did you—never mind. Yes. She's digging into our client acquisition strategy, our financial backing, everything.""Good."Adam blinked. "Good?""It means we're on her radar. Which means we need to become so legitimate, so successful, that her suspicions look ridiculous." Neo pulled up his trading terminal, fingers already flying across the keyboard. "Here's what's going to happen. Over the next eight months, we're going to turn Ames Digital into a multi-billion dollar company.""Sir, we're already doing well, but multi-billion is—""I have access to substantial capital. Enough to fund aggressive expansion through strategic crypto trades and calculated acquisitions. Then we're going to use that capital to acquire companies, expand operations, and position Ames Digital as a legitimate co

Neo grinned, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks, a reaction he hadn't had since… well, since her."Your turn," he whispered, trailing a hand down her thigh, his fingers finding the thin lace of her panties.She arched into his touch. The delicate material vanished quickly.They were fully naked, skin on skin, the contact a relief. Lyra traced the scars on his chest, the faint white lines where his enemies—the hitmen he’d already paid back—would have left deeper, permanent damage in the first timeline."You said you'd stay," she reminded him, her voice suddenly serious. "No disappearing at 3 AM for a secret meeting with your puppet CEO.""I'm staying," Neo confirmed, leaning down to kiss her stomach, then moving lower. "I promise. No puppet CEOs until sunrise."He spent a long time worshipping her body, kissing every soft curve and valley. His fingers found her again, careful this time, slow, determined to build the pleasure from