2025-10-20 23:58:35
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He was indeed smiling.A very small smile.The dangerous kind.Linda immediately sat up.“No.”Ethan blinked.“No what?”“No new projects.”“I didn’t say anything.”“You don’t need to.”Norka narrowed her eyes.“What did you do?”Ethan looked genuinely confused.“Why do you assume I did something?”“Experience,” Elsa replied.“Trauma,” Karpeta added.“Pattern recognition,” Linda said.“Self-preservation,” Norka finished.Ethan sighed.“…Fine.”He slowly opened his desk drawer.Everyone groaned.“THERE’S ANOTHER FOLDER!”“There are always folders.”He placed it on the table.The cover simply read:Community ProgramsElsa squinted.“…That’s suspiciously normal.”“It is normal.”Linda opened it.Then froze.“…Ethan.”“What?”“These are housing projects.”“Yes.”“Scholarships.”“Yes.”“Food programs.”“Yes.”“Disaster shelters.”“Yes.”“Community transport.”“Yes.”The room became silent.Karpeta slowly smiled.“Wait.”“You’re trying to improve entire towns.”“Several towns.”“ETHAN.”“Wh
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“I don’t even want to know the other four.”“They’re creative.”“ETHAN.”“I’m stopping.”Karpeta giggled.“At this point, I don’t think he sleeps.”“I sleep.”“When?”“Sometimes.”“That’s not an answer.”Before Ethan could respond, Linda’s phone buzzed.She looked down.Then frowned.“…Interesting.”Everyone looked at her.“What?”“The Watson faction issued another statement.”Norka sighed.“What now?”Linda read aloud.“We are getting closer to identifying the individual responsible for the creation of Aetheris Health.”The room became quiet.Elsa looked at Ethan.“How close are they?”Ethan shrugged.“Depends.”“Depends on what?”“How good they are.”“How good are they?”He thought for a second.“…Moderately dramatic.”Elsa buried her face in her hands.“That’s not a metric.”“It is for Watson.”Karpeta smiled.“They found your first name.”“Yeah.”“Are you worried?”“No.”“Why?”“Because there are a lot of Ethans.”“Fair.”Linda looked up.“There is one concern.”Ethan nodded.“Go
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⸻ Two weeks later. The Watson faction finally got something. A lead. A small one. But it was something. An investigator rushed into the meeting room. “We found a connection.” Everyone stood. The older man practically lunged across the table. “What connection?” The investigator handed over a file. “One name appears repeatedly.” The room became silent. Finally. After weeks. A lead. The older man opened the folder. Inside were dozens of reports. Contracts. Communications. Approvals. Expansion requests. Project reviews. One signature appeared more often than any other. Not ownership. Not leadership. But influence. The older man’s eyes narrowed. “…Ethan.” The room froze. Another executive leaned forward. “Ethan who?” The investigator shook his head. “We don’t know.” “What do you mean you don’t know?” “We only have a first name.” The older man stared at the file. Ethan. Just Ethan. Nothing else. No photograph. No public profile. No executive listin
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Karpeta read it twice. Then looked up. “…They are really serious.” Elsa smirked. “So are we.” Linda closed her laptop. “We are more prepared.” Norka nodded. “Much more.” Ethan stood up and stretched. “…Then we wait.” Elsa frowned. “That’s it?” He smiled slightly. “For now.” Karpeta sighed. “I don’t like that smile.” Linda muttered. “Neither do I.” Norka added. “It means he already thought three steps ahead again.” Ethan walked to the window. Outside, Aetheris clinics were busy. Patients coming in. Doctors moving fast. Medicine being delivered. Real help. Real change. He spoke quietly. “…Let them search.” Elsa watched him. “And when they find nothing?” Ethan’s eyes stayed on the city. “They’ll realize something worse.” Karpeta frowned. “What?” He smiled faintly. “That there was never a single target to hit.” Silence filled the room. Even Elsa didn’t joke this time. Because somewhere far away, the Watson faction was preparing a hunt for a person.
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Ethan considered that. “…Only a little.” “A lot,” Karpeta corrected. “A frightening amount,” Linda added. Norka smiled softly. “But useful.” The room settled into comfortable silence. Outside the office windows, staff moved through the halls. Doctors. Administrators. Engineers. People answering calls. Organizing deliveries. Planning outreach programs. Helping patients. Aetheris Health kept growing. Not because of fear. Not because of force. But because people needed affordable care. After a while, Ethan quietly asked, “…Do you think the Watson faction is angry?” Everyone looked at him. Then Elsa laughed. “Angry?” Karpeta smiled. “They’re furious.” Linda nodded. “They’re probably tearing apart meeting rooms.” Norka rested a hand on her stomach and grinned. “They’ve spent weeks hunting a mysterious mastermind.” “And instead of finding one…” Elsa finished the thought. “They’re about to get trapped in a six-hour meeting with lawyers.” For a moment, Ethan s
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Linda looked at Ethan.“No.”Ethan blinked.“I haven’t said anything yet.”“You were thinking about it.”“I was considering options.”“No.”Elsa immediately pointed at him.“Absolutely not.”Karpeta nodded.“Not happening.”Norka folded her arms over her stomach.“If you go to that meeting, I will personally drag you back here.”Ethan looked around the room.“You guys have very little faith in me.”“You fought an ancient nightmare while bleeding out,” Elsa said.“You stabbed an impossible creature to death,” Karpeta added.“You built an international healthcare network in secret,” Linda said.“You signed overseas contracts without telling anyone,” Norka finished.Everyone stared at him.“…You are not allowed to attend suspicious meetings alone.”Ethan looked offended.“That feels unfair.”“It’s extremely fair,” Elsa replied.The staff member still stood near the door.“…Should I tell them no?”Ethan opened his mouth.“No,” four voices said at once.He closed it again.“…Okay.”The emp
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