The silence across Terminal 4 was complete.Master Corvan groaned under the steel barrels, holding his bruised chest. He could not stand. The thirty dockworkers stood frozen, staring at the broken iron wrench lying in the oil on the ground. None of them dared to reach for their weapons.Lyra tapped her tablet twice. Her face was calm and serious as she looked at the quiet men."I am officially using the Maritime Commerce Regulations of the Central District, Clause Four," Lyra announced. Her clear voice carried across the pier. "Any union worker involved in an illegal lockout of a licensed Zenchip Global vessel will immediately lose his work license, have his personal property taken, and be banned from working at the regional ports for three years."The workers looked at one another in fear. They were tough men, but they were still ordinary workers. If they lost their port licenses, their families would have no food next week."She's bluffing..." one older worker said nervously, taking

The black luxury car moved smoothly through the rain soaked streets toward the southern part of the capital. Inside, the mood was quiet and tense.Riven sat in the back seat, looking out the window at the passing city lights. Beside him, Lyra sat with her legs crossed, quietly checking shipping reports on her tablet. Every few moments, her eyes moved away from the screen and toward Riven.In the front passenger seat, Linnea adjusted the side mirror. She noticed Lyra's frequent looks at Riven, and her eyes narrowed slightly in the reflection.Linnea had worked day and night with Riven to build Veridian Global. Seeing the sharp executive from Zenchip act so close to him gave her a strange and uncomfortable feeling."Riven," Linnea said, breaking the silence as she turned toward the back seat. "Our security team just sent an update from the central holding facility."Riven turned his head."What is it?""It's about Lysander," Linnea replied, her voice becoming serious. "When the capital

The wooden stairs creaked softly under Riven's boots as he walked down into the dark, damp basement. The air was cold and smelled of concrete and old salt from the nearby harbor.At the bottom of the stairs, a single weak lightbulb hung from an exposed wire, casting long shadows across the concrete floor.In the corner of the room, behind a heavy iron door, sat Sloane and Odette.Odette was curled up on a thin metal bed, shaking badly under her wet coat. Her eyes were swollen from crying.Sloane stood near the iron door. Her hands were red and bruised from hitting the metal bars. Her hair was a tangled mess, her expensive dress was ruined, and her makeup had run down her pale face in dark streaks.When the lock clicked open, Sloane gasped and stepped back in fear.But when the figure stepped under the yellow light, her breath caught."Riven...?" Sloane whispered, her voice shaking with shock, disbelief, and sudden hope.She rushed to the iron door and grabbed the metal bars with both

Down in the cold, damp basement, the heavy iron door swung open, but neither Sloane nor Odette moved to step outside.The key Riven dropped lay inches from Sloane’s knees in the dirt. Odette scrambled forward, grabbing the small piece of metal and clutching it against her chest."We have to go! Sloane, get up!" Odette shrieked, pulling Sloane’s arm with all her strength. "The police are outside! If they find us down here, they’ll lock us up with Lysander!"Sloane didn't move. Her knees were raw from kneeling on the rough floor, her eyes empty. Every word Riven had spoken still echoed inside her head, cutting through her mind.I don't hate you, Sloane. Hatred requires feeling something for you.To him, she wasn't even worth being angry at. She was completely insignificant.Before Odette could drag Sloane toward the wooden stairs, the basement light flickered. Three tall men wearing dark raincoats stepped down into the room. They weren't police officers, and they weren't Riven’s men.Th

The digital billboard high above the harbor continued to glow, casting a blue light over the docks.Sloane knelt in the mud, her eyes fixed on the image of Riven on the screen. The dock supervisor’s belt cracked against an empty metal barrel behind her, spraying dirty water across her back."Keep scrubbing, trash!" the supervisor barked. "Staring at the sky won't clear your five-million-dollar debt! Move those chains!"Odette wept, holding her aching back as she scrubbed the iron. Sloane slowly picked up the metal link, her raw fingers throbbing with pain. The realization that Riven was completely beyond her reach—now standing at the top of the entire continent—burned inside her chest worse than the cold.Meanwhile, inside the private executive lounge at the Apex International Tower.The short-squeeze had officially concluded. The trading room was quiet now, with analysts packing up completed reports.Lyra stood near the glass window, holding a black tablet and her travel coat over he