From the sixty-third floor of Cole Dominion Tower, Westbridge looked small enough to fit inside my palm.Cars crawled through the streets like glowing insects. Towers of glass rose against the evening sky. Far below, people hurried home beneath giant billboards carrying names they would probably never meet.One of those billboards carried mine.DAMIAN COLE: THE MAN REBUILDING WESTBRIDGE.The photograph showed me in a black suit, expression cold, hands folded in front of me.A man who had everything.At least, that was what the city believed.Behind me, music floated through the open doors of the executive ballroom.Three hundred guests had gathered tonight to celebrate Cole Dominion Group's fifteenth major acquisition of the year. Politicians, investors, celebrities, bankers, journalists.Everyone who mattered in Westbridge had found a reason to attend.Most of them hadn't known my name fourteen years ago.The few who had remembered it differently.Poor Damian Cole.Nathaniel Cole's s

I woke at 5:17 the next morning.Amara was asleep beside me.For several seconds, I remained still.The bedroom was dark except for the faint light slipping through the curtains. Westbridge was beginning to wake beneath us, but sixty floors above the streets, the city sounded distant.Quiet.Almost harmless.Amara slept on her side with one hand beneath the pillow.Her hair covered part of her face.She looked exactly the same as she had every morning for the past three years.That was the problem.Nothing had changed.Except me.Twenty-four hours ago, waking beside my wife meant deciding whether I could afford another ten minutes in bed before work.This morning, I was wondering whether the woman sleeping inches away from me had entered my office and stolen information worth hundreds of millions of dollars.My eyes dropped to the phone charging on her nightstand.Registered device.Marcus's words returned immediately.The Blackstone file had been accessed using Amara's account.Two-f

By seven the next morning, Westbridge was talking about a company that did not exist.I stood in my office with a cup of black coffee while a financial reporter spoke from the television mounted across the room.COLE DOMINION LINKED TO MAJOR EUROPEAN ACQUISITIONThe headline rolled beneath her.Vantrex Global.Eight hundred million dollars.Advanced logistics technology.Expansion into Europe.Every word came from a file Marcus and I had created less than twenty-four hours earlier.None of it was real.The money moving because of it was.Marcus walked into my office without knocking.He had a laptop under one arm and the expression of a man who had not slept."Victor bought again.""How much?""Another eleven million through two investment vehicles."I took a sip of coffee."Total?""Thirty-six million since last night.""Good."Marcus stopped."Good?""He believes the file.""Or he's reckless.""Victor Hayes isn't reckless."Marcus set the laptop on my desk."That almost makes this w

The message remained on my phone.You have twenty-four hours before history repeats itself.Marcus read it twice, then handed the phone back to me."Whoever sent this knew about the board meeting almost immediately.""I know.""Daniel left this office less than fifteen minutes ago.""I know.""And unless your assistant has suddenly joined an international conspiracy, that leaves the board.""Or Daniel."Marcus crossed his arms."Either way, we've got a leak.""We already knew that.""This is different. Someone isn't just stealing documents. They're watching decisions as they're made."I walked back to my desk.The Securities Commission complaint bothered me more.Not because I feared an investigation.Cole Dominion's books were clean.What bothered me was timing.The Vantrex rumor had existed for less than twenty-four hours, yet somebody had already prepared a complaint accusing us of market manipulation.That required more than suspicion.It required intention."Call Legal," I said.