Divorced on Monday, Bought the City on Tuesday: The Infinite

The Grand Stage

Chapter 22

The grand ballroom of the Valmont Plaza smelled of expensive catered salmon and predatory journalism. Over three hundred reporters, financial analysts, and corporate spies were crammed into the velvet-lined space. Camera flashes created a localized lightning storm near the front row.

Serena paced behind the heavy velvet curtain offstage. She wore a striking crimson pantsuit, but her hands were trembling slightly. She kept checking her watch.

"Stop moving. You're giving me motion sickness," Nyx muttered. The hacker was slouched in a folding chair, a sleek black laptop balanced on her knees. She casually blew a pink bubble, letting it pop against her lips.

"How can you be so calm?" Serena hissed, peeking through a gap in the curtain. "Half the city thinks we’re a shell company running a massive Ponzi scheme. The financial news networks have been tearing Arthur apart all morning. And look who just walked in."

Arthur stood nearby, perfectly still. He wore a bespoke charcoal suit paired with a blood-red tie. He casually adjusted his cufflinks and shifted his gaze toward the monitors displaying the live feed of the ballroom.

Julian Sterling was strutting down the center aisle.

The billionaire lawyer looked completely reborn. Yesterday, he was weeping on the floor of a bank vault. Today, he wore a tailored ivory suit, projecting the obnoxious confidence of a man who believed he had just cheated death.

Clinging tightly to his left arm was Eleanor. She had swapped her ruined, rain-soaked clothes for a pristine pearl-white designer dress. She smiled radiantly at the cameras, playing the role of the devoted, triumphant fiancé to absolute perfection.

"They look like they're walking down the aisle," Serena sneered, disgust radiating from her chest.

"They think they won," Arthur replied quietly. His voice carried zero anger. It was purely observational.

Julian didn't just bring his ex-wife. Walking one step behind him was a tall, gaunt man with slicked-back gray hair and a sharp, hawkish face. He wore a silver lapel pin shaped like a coiled serpent the insignia of Vanguard Capital, the financial arm of the Capital City's elite underground council.

Arthur’s eyes locked onto the gray-haired man on the monitor.

System, Arthur commanded mentally. Identify the handler.

[Target: Silas Vance (No relation). Senior Director, Vanguard Capital Acquisitions.]

[Status: Sent to Valmont City to weaponize the Sterling Law Group against the Host.]

[Capital Backing: $10 Billion authorized liquid funds.]

Ten billion dollars. That was the war chest the Capital City had given Julian to crush Arthur. To a normal man, ten billion was an insurmountable mountain. To Arthur’s System, it was pocket change.

"Mr. Vance."

Arthur turned. A stagehand wearing a headset offered a polite nod. "We are live in two minutes. The press is getting restless."

"Thank you," Arthur said smoothly. He glanced at Vera, who was standing completely still by the exit doors, blending seamlessly into the shadows. She offered him a microscopic nod. The perimeter was secure.

Arthur stepped past the velvet curtain and walked out onto the brightly lit stage.

The roar of the crowd was deafening. Reporters shoved recorders toward the edge of the stage, shouting questions over one another. Arthur ignored them, walking with slow, deliberate steps toward the center podium. His Aura of the Sovereign bled into the room, a heavy, invisible weight that slowly choked the noise out of the crowd.

Within thirty seconds, the massive ballroom went entirely silent.

Arthur gripped the edges of the wooden podium. He looked directly into the front row. Julian was sitting comfortably, his legs crossed, a smug, venomous grin plastered across his face. Eleanor sat beside him, refusing to make eye contact with Arthur, staring instead at the ceiling.

"Good afternoon," Arthur's voice boomed through the speakers, deep and resonant. "You are here to learn the truth about the sudden acquisition of Valmont First National, Horizon Neural Tech, and several other localized assets. You are here to learn about Vance Corp."

Before Arthur could finish his sentence, Julian suddenly stood up.

He didn't wait for a microphone. He turned to the crowd, raising his hands like a victorious politician.

"Don't listen to a word this man says!" Julian shouted, his voice echoing through the silent room. Cameras instantly pivoted toward him. "Arthur Vance is a fraud! He is a desperate, broke delivery driver who is currently acting as a frontman for an illegal offshore syndicate!"

Whispers erupted through the crowd. Reporters furiously typed on their phones.

Arthur didn't interrupt. He simply watched Julian dig his own grave.

"Yesterday, this man illegally manipulated bank records to temporarily freeze my family's assets," Julian yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at the stage. "But true wealth cannot be stolen by cheap parlor tricks! I am thrilled to announce that as of one hour ago, the Sterling Law Group has officially merged with Vanguard Capital!"

The gaunt man with the silver lapel pin stood up behind Julian, offering a curt, arrogant bow to the press.

"With a fresh injection of ten billion dollars," Julian gloated, turning his vicious gaze back to Arthur. "We are not just recovering. We are launching an immediate, devastating lawsuit against Vance Corp for corporate espionage, fraud, and theft. You are going to prison, Arthur. And I’m going to personally make sure you rot there."

Eleanor finally looked at Arthur. Her eyes were gleaming with parasitic triumph. She had chosen the winning side after all.

Arthur leaned toward the microphone. A slow, chilling smile spread across his face.

"Are you finished, Julian?"