The entire mine erupted into whispered chaos. Jillian's tired frantically to grab his attention and convince him.While everyone was mildly distracted, Chris tapped his smartwatch. “BODAS,” Chris commanded in a barely audible whisper, his eyes locked on the tense face of Julian Holloway. “Look up the current valuation and financial records for the Holloway Ridge mining facility. Give me the real numbers.”A tiny fraction of a second passed before a sharp, mechanical chime sounded through his wireless earpiece. The screen of his smartwatch flickered, displaying rows of encrypted corporate data that only Chris could read.“Data retrieved, Master Chris,” BODAS’s precise text layout flashed across the interface, accompanied by an audio breakdown directly into his ear. “The Holloway Ridge mining facility is heavily depreciated due to the exhaustion of its primary emerald veins. The true corporate market value of the land and remaining infrastructure is currently sitting at approximately si

The corporate representatives stared blankly at the mahogany table, their faces completely drained of color. Chris’s sudden, towering bid of two hundred and twenty million dollars had effectively crushed the room’s momentum. The three older men looked at one another, their breathing shallow as the sheer impossibility of the situation settled over them.Chris sat perfectly relaxed in his leather chair, his fingers intertwined. He looked over at Adrian, who was standing right behind him like an immovable wall."Adrian," Chris said smoothly, breaking the heavy silence. "We aren't going to drag this out. Get our legal department on a secure line right now. Have them draw up the absolute, non-contestable acquisition contract for the Holloway Ridge mining facility and all its surrounding territory. Make sure it's processed through our fast-track digital network."Adrian nodded sharply, a confident grin touching his lips. "On it, boss. I’ll step out and have the soft copy generated immediat

Chris relaxed into the heavy leather seats of the Range Rover and let out a satisfactory sigh grateful for the quiet from the chaotic boardroom battle that had just taken place inside the Holloway estate. As the luxury vehicle purred to life, its powerful engine humming smoothly in the quiet night, Chris leaned back against the headrest. He adjusted his position to get comfortable after the long hours of intense bidding. Outside the tinted glass windows, the bright neon lights of Onyx Harbor began to blur past as the driver pulled out onto the main highway, leaving the massive mansion behind.Chris reached into his tailored jacket pocket and pulled out his smartphone. The bright screen illuminated his face in the dark, reflecting the sharp, lingering intensity in his eyes. He flipped through his contacts, scrolling past several business names until he found a familiar, highly secure number. He didn't just want a standard corporate response from a regular manager tonight. He needed to

Adrian did not hesitate. The moment the command left Chris’s lips, he stepped out from the shadows of the velvet curtain and directly into the chaotic fray. Even with his left arm completely bound and immobilized against his chest by the tight medical sling, his posture remained perfectly balanced. His face was a mask of cold, absolute calm. The elite combat training drilled into him by the Mikaelson Syndicate had long since become pure muscle memory; to him, these uncoordinated street brawlers were moving in slow motion.A local dock worker, completely blind to Adrian’s approach, swung a heavy rusted pipe toward one of the cornered mercenaries. Adrian closed the distance in a single, fluid stride. He caught the man’s extended wrist with his good right hand, twisted it sharply down to force the joint to lock, and drove a solid, short-range knee strike straight into the man's ribs. The dock worker gasped, the air rushing out of his lungs as the metal pipe clattered uselessly onto the f

Chris didn't show a single trace of fear regarding the global powers or tech competitors she had just warned him about. Instead, he reached down, casually picked up both halves of the split geode, and set them back into the padded aluminum case."I know exactly what the consequences are, Rose," Chris said, his voice smooth and entirely level. "And I have no intention of letting this stone leave the perimeter."Rose watched him, her brow furrowed in deep confusion. "Then I don't understand your strategy, Chris. Leaving a resource like this in an asset that everyone in Onyx Harbor knows you just bought is a massive security risk. Even with Gideon’s men guarding the gates, a determined military strike team will tear this place apart if they find out what is hidden inside.""They won't find out," Chris replied calmly. "Because as far as the public, the media, and the local mining boards are concerned, the Holloway Ridge is nothing more than a failing, depleted asset that Greene Global bo