“This… this can’t be real.”The manager’s voice trembled. Derrick didn’t answer right away. He simply watched as the man refreshed the screen on his tablet again. And again.The numbers didn’t change. Ten luxury vehicles. Fully paid. No delays. No flags. No fraud warnings. The showroom, once buzzing with mockery, had gone dead silent.One of the saleswomen swallowed hard. “Manager… the funds cleared.”Another whispered, “That’s… that’s impossible.”The manager slowly lifted his head and looked at Derrick again, as if seeing him for the first time. “No,” he said. “There must be some mistake.”Derrick smiled faintly. “You said humiliation was free,” he replied. “I’m just paying for the rest.”Security hesitated. “Let him go,” the manager snapped suddenly. “Now.”The guards released Derrick’s arms immediately. Their grip loosened like hands touching something radioactive.The girl beside Derrick, the driver from last night, stared at him, eyes wide. “You…” she said quietly, “who are you?

“Stop recording!”Security shouted, but no one listened. Phones were everywhere. Hands shaking. Eyes burning.Derrick stood in the center of the lobby as if the chaos belonged to someone else. Women cried. Men argued. Executives whispered urgently into their phones.One word rippled through the room. ''Twenty billion.''“That’s fake,” someone said loudly. “It has to be fake.”Hawthorne’s face was gray. He grabbed Sophie’s wrist. “We’re leaving. Now.”Sophie didn’t move. She stared at Derrick like he had crawled out of a nightmare. “You didn’t earn this,” she said. “You stole it.”Derrick looked at her calmly. “You watched me get beaten and said nothing.”“That doesn’t”“Everything after that,” Derrick interrupted, “belongs to me.”Hawthorne leaned forward. “Enjoy your moment,” he said quietly. “By tomorrow, your accounts will be frozen.”Derrick nodded. “Try.”Hawthorne’s lips thinned. “You don’t understand how this world works.”Derrick stepped closer. “I understand humiliation.”The

The ballroom was silent. Not the polite kind of silence. The predatory kind. Hundreds of eyes fixed on Derrick Wallance as if waiting for him to collapse.The auctioneer cleared his throat. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said cautiously, “we will now proceed with Lot Seventy-Seven.”Derrick didn’t move. Luna’s fingers tightened around his sleeve. “We can leave,” she whispered. “Right now.”“No,” Derrick said quietly. “This is why we’re here.”Across the room, Hawthorne sat at the center table, surrounded by executives, senators, old money. Sophie sat beside him. Smiling. The auctioneer continued. “Lot Seventy-Seven is a private equity stake”“Withdraw it,” Hawthorne interrupted calmly.The auctioneer froze. “Sir?”Hawthorne raised his glass. “I’m exercising my influence.”A murmur rippled through the crowd. The auctioneer swallowed. “Lot Seventy-Seven has been withdrawn.”Gasps followed. Derrick stepped forward. “You can’t do that.”Hawthorne looked at him pleasantly. “I already did.”“Th

The ballroom smelled like fear. Not metaphorical fear. Real fear, sharp, metallic, crawling into the lungs. Paramedics rushed in, voices overlapping. “Clear the area!”“Pulse is weak!”“Move!”Hawthorne’s body lay on the marble floor, suit rumpled, dignity erased. Moments ago, he had been untouchable. Now, people stepped around him like inconvenient furniture.Cameras didn’t stop recording. They never did. Sophie stood frozen, phone slipping from her fingers. “Uncle…” she whispered. “Wake up.”No response. Derrick didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Didn’t kneel this time. The system pulsed gently, like a satisfied heartbeat. ''Ascension state stabilized.''Luna was already gone. That fact hurt more than the screaming. Agent Mercer pushed through the crowd, eyes locking onto Derrick instantly. “Wallance,” she said sharply. “Don’t move.”Derrick looked at her. For the first time, she flinched. “Am I under arrest?” Derrick asked calmly.Mercer hesitated. “You were involved in”“In a man kneeling

4… The countdown burned in the air like a brand. Derrick’s finger hovered inches from the projection. ERASE: LUNA VALEAround him, the ballroom had descended into chaos. “Stop him!”“Kill the system!”“He’s going to erase her!”Sophie collapsed completely, sobbing. “Please… she didn’t do anything… please…”Agent Mercer aimed her weapon, not at Derrick. At the blue interface. “Fire,” someone shouted through her earpiece.Mercer hesitated. Derrick noticed. “You can’t,” he said calmly.Her eyes flicked to him. “Don’t test me.”“You already did,” Derrick replied. “The moment you let it watch.”The system chimed. ''COUNTDOWN CONTINUES.''3… Derrick closed his eyes. Luna’s face surfaced in his mind. Not the ballroom. Not the severance notice. But earlier. A memory the system had not shown.Luna laughing in the car. Luna arguing with him about money. Luna saying, 'You’re still human.'His chest tightened. “System,” Derrick said quietly. “You said erasure is mercy.”“CORRECT.”“Then why does