2025-08-07 22:21:35The alley behind the bar smelled like old beer and gasoline.
Tasha Reid stood beneath the flickering light, arms crossed, her breath fogging in the late-night chill. She hadn’t changed much since Eleanor Cole’s funeral—still sharp, still unreadable. Adrian kept his voice low. “You were one of her last contacts. Tell me what you know.” She studied him for a long second. “I thought you were dead.” “Close enough.” Tasha glanced around, then motioned for him to follow. “Not here.” ————- They walked three blocks in silence before stopping at a quiet rooftop café. The city lights stretched out below them like stars trapped in glass. “I owed your mother everything,” Tasha said, sliding her coffee across the table. “But after she died, I cut ties with the Cole family. Or what was left of it.” “She left me a system,” Adrian said. “In my head. It speaks.” Tasha didn’t flinch. “Then it activated.” “You knew?” She leaned back. “Project Silence. Eleanor’s final work. A neuro-emotional A.I. Designed to trigger only if you were broken beyond recognition.” “I was.” Tasha gave him a long, tired look. “Then it chose the right time.” Adrian tapped a finger against the table. “Why didn’t you tell me?” “She said you’d never believe it unless you lost everything. That grief would teach you what legacy couldn’t.” He looked down, jaw clenched. Tasha’s voice softened. “You don’t get it, do you? This thing—it doesn’t give you revenge. It gives you discipline. Control. It builds power by teaching you to let go of your pain without letting go of your mind.” Adrian blinked. “She built this for me?” “She built it to save you—from yourself.” System Notification: User Stabilization Reached. New Function Unlocked: Asset Management. On cue, a digital interface flickered in his vision. [Asset Vault Accessed] Holdings Detected: 1 dormant trust | 2 shell companies | 1 sealed tech patent (E. Cole) | Status: Available. “She’s been preparing for war,” Adrian muttered. Tasha nodded. “Not war. Survival. She knew Benson Group was going to collapse. Michael and Jessica were just pawns in a bigger play.” Adrian’s eyes darkened. “So Jessica wasn’t the only betrayal coming.” “No.” Tasha slid a folder across the table. “Your mother anticipated three threats. Michael Kane. Internal fraud at Cole Tech. And a corporate spy inside the Benson family.” He flipped open the folder. A name glared back at him. Jeremy Lin – CFO, Benson Group. He froze. “I remember him. He tried to push me out of a merger meeting last year.” Tasha’s eyes flicked to his. “He’s the one who froze your accounts. Michael just gave the order. Jeremy made it happen.” Adrian’s hands tightened around the folder. System Notification: Emotional Elevation Detected. Recommend: Breathe. Choose silence. Adrian inhaled sharply. Let it out. “I’m not here for rage,” he said. “I’m here to rebuild. Quietly.” Tasha smiled faintly. “Good. Because if we do this right, Jessica won’t even know you’re the one saving—or sinking—her.” ———- The next morning, Adrian sat in a borrowed workspace above a bookstore. He hadn’t slept. The system kept feeding him updates—financial moves, shell companies to activate, and something else he hadn’t touched yet: Unpublished Patent: Neural Stabilization Module v2. Filed by: Eleanor Cole. Value Estimate: $12.4 million. It had never been launched. And now it was his. The system voice echoed, colder than before: “Host, you have one mission: Rise without emotion. Win without noise. Protect your future by erasing your past.” ——— Across the city, Jessica stared at her father’s hospital monitor. He hadn’t woken up. She hadn’t heard from Michael in 36 hours. Her phone buzzed with emails—all bad news. Stockholders pulling out. Board members resigning. Media waiting to pounce. She scrolled through her contacts. Hesitated. Then tapped one. Adrian’s backup number. It rang once. Then voicemail. Her voice cracked. “Adrian… if you’re out there, I didn’t know Michael would—God, I don’t know why I’m calling. Everything’s falling apart. Please—just… I’m sorry.” She ended the call. Her eyes brimmed. Behind her, a nurse gently tapped her shoulder. “Miss Benson, your company’s accountant just arrived. He says there’s a problem with the books.” Jessica turned, spine straightening. “What kind of problem?” But something twisted in her gut. ———- Meanwhile, Adrian leaned back in his chair as the voicemail played. He didn’t blink. System Alert: Mission Opportunity — Ignore message. Reward: Business Insight Module. He hit “Delete.” The system chimed. Module Unlocked: Competitive Market Scan. Scanning: Benson Group. 8.1% of shares acquired anonymously via shell entities. Adrian stared at the number. Almost 10%. It had begun. At that exact moment, Jessica’s phone buzzed with a notification. Investor Notice: A new shareholder has acquired 8.1% of Benson Group Name: Confidential. Her eyes widened. She looked around the hospital corridor like she was being watched. Because suddenly… she felt like she was.
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Chapter 79: Benson & Cole
Jessica froze in the middle of the lobby, her breath catching when her eyes landed on the new sign above the glass doors.Benson & Cole.The letters were bold, polished, and impossible to ignore. Her name…..her father’s name standing side by side with his.She froze right there for what felt like forever. Her heart pounded hard in her ears. It drowned out the receptionist’s cheerful greeting. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to run, laugh bitterly, or rip the whole sign down with her bare hands.Finally she made herself step in. Her heels hit the marble floor with a clack. Each one sounded sharper than the one before. The strap of her bag bit into her shoulder, but she held on tighter, as though that would keep her from falling apart. This was meant to be her big win. Her small brand, her hard earned independence, finally gaining traction. And now, overnight, it was swallowed whole merged with him. Adrian Cole.The elevator ride up felt endless. By the time the doors opened to his
Chapter 78: Jessica’s Father’s Letter
The rain kept coming down without a break all day.Jessica was right there by the kitchen window. She watched those water drops sliding down the glass. Things were quiet, too quiet. She usually liked it that way. Pregnancy had already changed her nights into long, restless hours where silence was all she had. But this night the quiet weighed on her, like it was waiting for something to happen.The knock at the door startled her.Her hand went straight to her belly, but she even moved. No one was supposed to show up. Most people always texted ahead. She paused, stared at the door for a second, then crossed the room slowly. Her apartment wasn’t big; Every step made the old floorboards groan.Another knock. Steadier this time.She pressed her palm against the wood. “Who is it?”A pause. Then a man’s voice……calm, professional. “Ms. Benson? I’m here on behalf of your late father’s estate. My name is Robert Hale. I was his attorney.”Jessica froze.For a moment, she didn’t breathe.
Chapter 77: System Reward Clarity
Adrian hated rooms like this.The penthouse was vast, glass walls stretching across the skyline, the city beneath him glowing like a sea of embers. People paid millions for views like this, but to Adrian it felt like a cage—walls of glass reminding him he was always being watched.The press conference was already over. Michael had been taken in handcuffs, screaming lies as cameras devoured every second. Jessica… Jessica had stood tall, spoken truth, and for once the world hadn’t torn her apart for it.Adrian hadn’t approached her. Couldn’t.Every word she said on that stage had struck him like a blade. Not because she exposed him—but because she remembered him. Not the man he’d become, but the man he had been before betrayal scorched everything clean.Now, in the silence of his apartment, he stood with his hands pressed against the window. The city glimmered back, hollow and distant.That’s when it came.A soft chime, cutting into the quiet.[System Notification: Emotional Test Comple
Chapter 76: Jessica’s Stand
The flashes came first and fast.Jessica hadn’t even reached the podium when the sea of reporters surged forward, cameras raised like weapons, microphones shoved into her path. Questions ricocheted across the hall, each one sharper than the last.“Jessica, did you know about Adrian’s plans before today?”“Why did you help Adrian Coke with the journal?““Are you benefitting from Quantum Holdings’ exposure of Michael Kane?”“Do you still have ties to Michael Kane? Were you complicit?”Each word hit like a stone. Her heart started beating faster. She held her chin up and her eyes stayed locked straight ahead. Her heels made a quiet click on the stage floor. She stepped right up to the podium made of wood.For a moment, her hand hung there over the microphone.Her breathing was shaky. Her voice came out steady when she spoke.She said, "I'll answer just one question." Her words were calm. They were careful too. "Why did I help Adrian Cole."The whole room froze up. It was like they all s
Chapter 75: The Press Conference
Cameras had been set up and ready by the time Adrian Cole made his way to the stage.Those flashbulbs started popping right away. It was like a sharp, quick beat trying to cut right through his quiet, but nothing showed on his face. He just stood there in the center of the stage, one black folder gripped in his hand. Reporters at his feet like some wild storm.Adrian had avoided moments like this for years, the public appearances, Interviews and words that could get twisted every which way against him. Basically, he put together his whole empire without much talk at all, let his moves do the shouting instead of any fancy speeches. But today was different.Today was about truth.Behind him, the screen loomed, dark for now. Waiting.He set the folder on the podium, adjusted the mic, and finally spoke. His voice carried like iron across the hall.“Thank you for coming.”The room hushed instantly.“I don’t usually do this. I don’t seek attention, and I don’t speak unless there’s somethin
Chapter 74: Public or Private
The ruins were quiet again, but Adrian’s chest wasn’t.He stood there, staring at the cracked floor where the fire had once consumed his mother, where the truth had finally been revealed. His hands trembled, not from weakness but from the sheer weight of choice pressing down on him.Michael Kane had destroyed everything. His mother’s legacy. His marriage. His trust. And for years, Adrian had let silence be his weapon, let patience become his armor. But now the truth was in his hands.The drive was heavy in his pocket. Too heavy.[System: Evidence secured. Multiple pathways available. Do you wish to act?]The words slashed across his vision. He didn’t answer. Not yet. He turned and walked out of the ruins, each step crunching against ash and broken glass. The sky outside was gray, storm clouds rolling in as if the world itself sensed the choice he had to make.By the time Adrian slid into the backseat of his car, his silence had sharpened into steel. He gave a single order to his drive
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