Erick stood at the head of the table, pain etched into every line of his face, but his mind was razor-sharp. The confirmation from Remi’s mother had ignited something cold and final inside him.“We hit them where it hurts most,” he said. “Publicly.”Remi stood beside him, shoulder brushing his. Her eyes were still red from the emotional visit with her mother, but her expression had hardened into something fierce and determined. “I’ll handle the financial forensics. Let’s make Michel’s collapse look like the beginning of the end for the entire family.”Erick gave her a small nod, pride flickering in his gaze. “Do it.”Within minutes, the next wave launched. Using Ghost Core’s shadow relays, they dumped irrefutable evidence of Michel’s embezzlement across major financial networks and media outlets. The story exploded.LAURENT EMPIRE CRUMBLING: MICHEL LAURENT FACING MULTIPLE FELONY CHARGES AS ACCOUNTS REMAIN FROZENLive footage showed Michel being escorted out of his penthouse in handcuf

“Three days,” Erick said, voice low but steady. “Leroy wants to use the summit to brand me a terrorist and seize GD Tech on live television. We turn that stage into his execution.”He pulled up a holographic layout of the summit venue — a massive convention center in Manhattan with multiple stages, heavy security, and thousands of global elites.“Priority,” Erick continued, “we secure three things: access to the main stage, control of the broadcast systems, and protection for Remi’s mother.”Aria nodded. “Ghost Core is still masking our location, but Luca is getting dangerously close. He’s offering the feds partial Helix access in exchange for hunting us down. We have maybe 48 hours before they break through the last major firewall.”Remi leaned over the table, zooming in on the venue schematics. “I can get us credentials. I still have contacts inside the Laurent Group who don’t know I’ve fully turned. If I pose as a representative sent to ‘smooth things over,’ I can get us inside the

Erick moved instantly, pain forgotten in the heat of crisis. “Aria — counter it. Use Ghost Core’s shadow relays. Isolate the affected substations and reroute power manually.”“On it!” Aria’s hologram glitched. “But Luca’s going all-in. He’s burning through nodes faster than I can patch them. We’ve got twenty-three minutes before the next major wave hits Midtown.”Remi was already at a secondary terminal, fingers flying. “I’m locking down the financial district nodes. If we lose power there, the markets will crash before we even reach the Summit.”Erick nodded, pride cutting through the urgency. He limped to her side, one hand resting on her shoulder as he reviewed her commands. “Good. Keep the hospitals and emergency services onl

Outside the door, arms crossed, watching through the observation window. His own injuries throbbed, but the pain was distant compared to the storm in his mind.Remi stood beside him, arms wrapped tightly around herself. The silence between them was heavy.“She saved you,” Remi said finally, voice quiet. “She took a bullet meant for you.”Erick turned to her. “She also helped destroy me for five years.”Remi’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I know. I hate her for what she did to you.” Her voice cracked. “But watching her bleed for you back there… it felt like the final thread of my old life snapping.”Erick pulled her into his arms, ignoring the sharp protest from his ribs.He held her close, one hand gently stroking her hair. “You are not her. You never were. You chose me when it cost you everything. That’s the only thing that matters to me now.”Remi buried her face in his chest, breathing him in. “I’m scared, Erick. Leroy wants you dead on that stage. Martin Clarke is already in

The dramatic theater played by Michel and Evelyn was the first thing Remi did after making herself a coffee 24 hours before Summit.Michel stood outside the private hospital, tears glistening theatrically under the camera lights.“My sister, Dominique, was attacked by a monster named Erick Gerard—or Quade, whatever he calls himself now! She’s fighting for her life simply because she tried to protect our family!”Beside him, Evelyn dabbed a silk handkerchief to the corner of her eye. Her face was a perfect mask of maternal grief. “Our family has been shattered by betrayal. Remi… my own stepdaughter… she chose that man over her own flesh and blood.”Remi sat across from Erick, her fork hovering in mid-air as she watched the broadcast with a mix of disgust and amusement. “Michel’s acting is terrible,” she muttered. “He looks like he’s reading from a script. And Evelyn… she tears up right on cue. Always playing the perfect victim.”Erick chewed his eggs slowly, his eyes fixed on the wall-m