"I slapped you," Sora corrected, her voice unnaturally calm. "Big difference. If I'd hit you, you'd be on the ground." She turned to look at Derek, whose face had drained to the color of old paper. "And you. Take your girlfriend and leave. Before I call your father and explain what kind of trash his son brings to professional events."Derek's anger died instantly. His father. The deal. The money. Everything his family needed."We're going," he said quickly, grabbing Maya's arm. "Right now. Let's go.""Wait!" Maya was crying now, tears streaming down her face. "My family knows people on the board! We have friends—""Don't care," Sora cut her off flatly. "You showed everyone who you really are. Now deal with the consequences." She waved toward security. "Remove them. They're banned from all Titan events. Permanently."Four guards appeared. Maya tried to pull away, but her heel caught on something. Derek had to hold her up, and for just a second, Jake saw Derek's real expression. He wasn

"What? Robert, what did you do?""Nothing! Just... get here. Please."He hung up. Looked at his safe. At all the folders he'd planned to move. To hide.'If I move them now and they find out, it's obstruction. If I don't move them, they'll find everything.'He was trapped. Completely trapped.His office door opened. His secretary, pale-faced. "Mr. Mitchell? There are men here to see you. They say they're from OSHA. Something about the Thompson project?"Robert felt his world tilting. "Send them in."Three investigators walked in with clipboards and grim expressions. "Mr. Mitchell, we're here about the three worker fatalities that occurred fourteen months ago at your Thompson Street construction site. We have some questions about your safety protocols and incident reports.""That was investigated. Closed case. Accidental deaths.""We've received new information suggesting the reports were falsified. We'll need access to your original documentation."Robert's hands started shaking. "I'll

"I don't know, Mom. I don't know." He hung up. Sat on his bed. Stared at the ceiling. Tried to think. Tried to understand. How did this happen so fast? Who had this much power? Sora Chen. Had to be Sora Chen. She was the only one with resources like this. Connections. Influence. But a small voice in the back of his mind whispered: 'What if it's not her? What if it's someone else? Someone you never saw coming?' Derek shook his head. Pushed the thought away. Jake Morrison was a broke intern. A nobody. This was Sora's doing. It had to be. His phone buzzed. Text from an unknown number: {Your father made his choices. Now he pays. You're next.} Derek dropped his phone like it burned him. Someone was watching. Someone was coming. And Derek had absolutely no idea who. His phone rang again. He grabbed it without looking. "Hello?" "Derek." Maya's voice. Soft. Hesitant. "I saw the news. About your dad." Derek's throat tightened. "Maya—" "I'm sorry. I know I said I needed time

"To see the damage. And to make sure they didn't plant anything. Bugs. Cameras. Tracking devices." Sora slid into the driver's seat. "Harrison, you're coming too. Extra eyes."They drove across the city in tense silence. The research facility was on the industrial side. Warehouses and office parks. Not much security at night.Police cars were already there when they arrived. Yellow tape. Uniforms. The whole show.Sora badged them through. Led Jake and Harrison inside.The place looked untouched. Nothing broken. Nothing obviously stolen. Just a few filing cabinets hanging open. A computer terminal left running."Professional job," Harrison muttered. "They knew exactly what they wanted."A security officer approached. "Ms. Chen. We've reviewed the footage. Two people. Masked. They were in and out in under eight minutes. Bypassed our alarms like they weren't even there.""Show me," Sora said.They went to the security office. Pulled up the footage on screens.Jake watched two figures in

The entire room gasped. Actual gasps. People turning to stare.Derek's head whipped around. "What?"The auctioneer's eyebrows rose above his mask. "Fifteen million. A substantial increase. Do I hear sixteen?"Derek stood up. "This is ridiculous! Who are you? You can't just—""Sir," the auctioneer cut him off. "Outbursts are not permitted. Either bid or sit down."Maya tugged on Derek's sleeve. "Derek, we can't. We don't have more than eleven. That's everything we have. Everything.""I don't care!" Derek's voice cracked. "I'm not losing to some nobody! Sixteen million!"The room went dead silent.Jake could see Maya's face go white even behind her mask. Her hands were shaking."Sixteen million," the auctioneer confirmed. "Do I hear seventeen?"Sora touched Jake's arm. "You don't have to do this.""Yeah," Jake said. "I do."He raised his paddle again. "Twenty million."The explosion of whispers was immediate. People talking over each other. Pointing. Staring.Derek made a sound like a w