2025-08-07 22:23:38The café was tucked into a side street near the river, quiet enough for secrets but not too empty to look suspicious.
Adrian sat at a corner table, watching the steam curl from his untouched coffee. The system voice in his head was silent for once—like even it knew this meeting needed no distractions. The doorbell chimed. Tasha Reid walked in, blazer crisp, hair pinned back, her expression unreadable……she scanned the room once before walking toward him. He didn’t stand She didn’t offer her hand. Instead, she slid into the seat across from him, pulled out a folder, and dropped it on the table. “Benson Group. Internal ownership records. Updated as of this morning.” Adrian raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been busy.” “I had help.” Her eyes held his for a beat too long. “From someone who clearly isn’t as erased as they want to appear.” He said nothing. Tasha leaned forward slightly. “I know it’s you, Adrian. The shells. The sudden fund movements. The anonymous board seat request. I’ve been tracking patterns long before Jessica’s world fell apart.” He sipped his coffee. Tasha smirked. “Don’t worry. I’m not here to sell you out. I’m here to make a deal.” System Notification: Alignment Detection — Tasha Reid at 63%. Trust: Moderate Risk. Potential Ally. Adrian finally spoke. “Why now?” “Because I worked with your mother.” That made him pause. She reached into her coat and pulled out a thin, worn card. It was an old ID badge from a tech incubator—one he hadn’t seen in over a decade. Her picture was younger, eyes full of fire. And beside her name: Co-Developer: Evelyn Cole Initiative. “My mother trusted three people with her prototype,” Adrian said quietly. “One of them was killed in a lab fire. The other disappeared.” “I was the third.” Silence fell between them. The coffee steamed. Traffic moved outside. And Adrian’s mind was already ten steps ahead. Tasha opened the folder again. Inside were two things: her own signed NDA, dated eleven years ago—and a new document, unsigned. A corporate partnership agreement. “Fifty-fifty?” Adrian asked. “No,” she said. “Seventy-thirty. You lead. I follow. But I want in—on whatever this is. The silent takeover. The legacy system. The long game. I’m done working under people who don’t know what real power looks like.” Adrian looked at her hands. No ring. No trembling. Just steel. The kind his mother admired. System Ping: “Accepting alliance increases success probability by 23%. Alignment Level: 67%.” He tapped the folder once. “What do you want first?” “A board seat. And access to your surveillance feeds. I’ll handle internal rot—Jeremy, Michael’s moles, legal blocks. You handle strategy.” Adrian nodded once. “Done.” Tasha leaned back, satisfied. “Then let’s make Jessica Benson bleed.” ———- Meanwhile, Jessica was staring at her laptop, trying to stop her hands from shaking. The news was spreading fast. Eighteen percent. An anonymous investor had acquired nearly a quarter of Benson Group, and no one could trace them. She’d pulled every record, called every contact. Nothing. And worse? Michael was gone again. Left a voicemail that just said, “Handle it.” No explanation, no backup, no protection. Her chest felt tight. Her father’s condition hadn’t changed. The company was spiraling. She was spiraling. A knock at the door. “Come in,” she snapped. Her assistant stepped in, hesitant. “Ma’am… you have a dinner invitation. Investor roundtable. Tomorrow night. It’s confirmed that Kensington Capital, Torres Holdings, and MTech will be there.” Jessica frowned. “And?” “Your ex-husband’s name was just added to the guest list.” She was shocked ———- That night, Adrian stood on his apartment balcony, watching the city blink below. His old identity was wiped. The apartment was one of four he now controlled through different aliases. No one knew he was alive. Not really. He thought about Jessica. About how she looked the night she screamed at him, standing beside the man she’d betrayed him with. The memory was sharp, but dull at the same time. The system had slowly blunted the edge of his rage, but never erased the weight of it. System Notification: New Mission – Remain Silent at Investor Dinner. Reward: Emotional Suppression Level +1. Bonus: Unlock “Insight Scan – Michael Kane.” He exhaled slowly. So that’s what it wanted. Control. Restraint. Strategy. Fine. He’d mastered silence. Now it was time to weaponize it. ———- Tasha forwarded him the guest list the next morning. “Jessica confirmed. Michael too. But the sharks are circling. If you show up, even quietly, it’ll shake the board. You’re not the ghost anymore—you’re the storm.” Adrian simply texted back: I’ll be there. ———- Back at Benson Group, Jessica sat in her car outside the event hall. Makeup done. Dress perfect. But her heart wasn’t in it. She felt small. Like everything she’d built was paper—and someone was lighting matches all around her. She took a deep breath and walked inside. ———— The dinner was a private affair. Low lighting with expensive wine. Soft piano in the corner. Investors mingled at velvet tables, exchanging quiet barbs dressed as compliments. Jessica forced a smile as she moved between them. Then she froze. Across the room, a figure stepped inside. Tailored suit. Clean-shaven. Expression unreadable. Her heart stopped. Adrian. He looked… different. Taller somehow. Colder. Like life had burned away everything soft and left behind steel. Michael, standing near the wine bar, followed her gaze—and cursed under his breath. “Who invited him?” Jessica whispered. Michael scoffed. “Doesn’t matter. He’s irrelevant.” But the way Michael’s jaw tightened said otherwise. ———- Adrian said nothing to anyone. He walked past tables without stopping, acknowledged no one, and made direct eye contact with no one. But everyone noticed him. And that was enough. He took a seat at the back, not on the guest list, not officially representing any company. But he was seen. Jessica’s hand tightened around her wine glass. Michael muttered to her, “If he tries anything, I’ll handle it.” But she didn’t believe him. Not anymore. ———- System Notification: Mission Success — Emotional Suppression Level +1 Bonus Unlocked: “Insight Scan – Michael Kane” Scan Complete. Summary: Fraudulent investments. Multiple shell accounts. Macau connection confirmed. Risk Level: High. Adrian’s eyes narrowed. He now had everything he needed. ————- In the restroom , Jessica chased a shadow. “Adrian!” He paused but didn’t turn around. “You did this. All of it. Didn’t you?” He finally looked back, eyes cold. “You never asked what it cost me.” She stepped closer, voice trembling. “Are you here to destroy me?” He stared for a long moment. “No,” he said softly. “You’re doing that all by yourself.” And then he walked away
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Chapter 99: Holding Life
The world had gone still.For the first time in months, there was no noise, no reporters, no system pings, no storm hammering against glass. Just the faint hum of hospital lights and the soft, steady breathing of two people who had almost lost each other forever.Adrian sat at the edge of the hospital bed, drenched clothes replaced with plain scrubs the nurse had given him. His sleeves were rolled up, forearms still faintly marked by rain. But he didn’t care.All his focus was on the small weight resting against his chest… warm, fragile, alive.His daughter.Her fingers twitched every now and then, clutching faintly at his shirt like she already knew what she wanted to hold on to. Her breathing came in short, soft hitches, the faintest sound he’d ever heard and the most grounding.Adrian swallowed hard, tracing a thumb across the infant’s tiny wrist.“Hey, little one,” he whispered, voice unsteady. “You came into the world kicking, huh?”The baby made a quiet noise, almost like a s
Chapter 98: When The Water Broke
The rain started soft—like a warning the world whispered before it broke. Jessica put her hand on her lower belly. Her breathing wasn’t steady, her phone screen lit up soft against the dark tinted window of the car.“David?” she called out to the driver. No answer.The car was parked somewhere in between the apartment building and the hospital. Her contractions hit her quicker than she figured they would, they came sharp. “David!” she tried again, panic rising as she shifted forward. The front seat was empty. The keys dangled, engine off. The rain thudded against the roof like a thousand tiny drums.He was gone.For a heartbeat, she didn’t believe it. She leaned forward, blinking hard, gripping her belly as another wave of pain tore through her.Her driver—gone?Jessica fumbled for her phone, tapping the emergency contact. The screen flickered. No signal. The storm had swallowed everything.“Come on,” she whispered, her voice breaking.She tried to steady her breathing the way the
Chapter 97: Protecting Her
The city had barely woken when Jessica’s phone started vibrating on the nightstand.She reached for it, half-asleep, the screen glaring against the dim morning light. Her assistant’s name flashed repeatedly.Mia: You need to come in now.Jessica: What happened?Mia: It’s bad. Someone broke into the warehouse.Jessica sat up so fast the sheet slipped to her lap. Her heartbeat thundered in her chest. “No… no, please not today,” she whispered, dragging herself out of bed.The brand’s first big shipment…. newborn blankets embroidered with Hope—was supposed to go out tomorrow. The warehouse was everything she’d built with borrowed faith.She didn’t even change out of her sweater. And she was gone.The streets were still wet from dawn rain when she pulled up outside the small industrial building. Police tape fluttered across the front gate. Her stomach dropped.Crates were overturned. Fabric soaked in muddy water. Broken glass glittered in the puddles.Mia ran up, face pale. “They smashed
Chapter 96: Baby Shower
The hall glowed like a dream.Soft music floated through the air, warm laughter filled the space, and white balloons drifted under a ceiling of hanging lights. Cameras clicked. The smell of vanilla cake and roses hung in the air.Jessica stood in the middle of it all, a soft blue dress hugging her figure, her hands resting gently on her round belly. Her cheeks glowed, not from makeup but from the strange calm she’d learned to live with.“Jess, you look amazing!” one of her friends squealed, snapping another picture.“Your baby’s going to be so spoiled,” another teased.Jessica smiled, polite and practiced. She’d learned to smile even when her heart tugged in two directions…. forward, toward her child’s future… and backward, toward the man who taught her how to stand alone.But today wasn’t about heartbreak.Today was about hope.At the doors, murmurs rose suddenly. Cameras shifted.The atmosphere thickened, curious whispers breaking through the chatter.“He’s here.”“Wait— that’s him
Chapter 95: System Final Mission Begins
Night fell quiet over the city.The kind of quiet that wasn’t peaceful but expectant.Adrian stood alone in his penthouse, the skyline stretching endlessly before him. Below, the world buzzed with noise and light, but up here, it was just him, the hum of machines, and the faint reflection of his own tired eyes.The system had been silent for days.Too silent.He’d gotten used to its presence over time, the mechanical voice that once barked commands now something he almost trusted. It had pushed him through rebuilding his empire, through his pain, through every wall he put between himself and Jessica.But lately, even the system seemed to hesitate around him.He poured himself a glass of water and turned toward the desk.The screen blinked to life, blue light spilling across his face.[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: FINAL MISSION AVAILABLE]Adrian’s pulse slowed. He set the glass down carefully, almost reverently. “Final… mission?”“Yes.”The voice was softer now. Almost… human.“Final Emotional
Chapter 94: The Silent Support
The storm finally passed.But silence carried its own kind of noise.For three days straight, Jessica’s name had been everywhere—linked, twisted, reshaped by headlines that didn’t care about truth. When it finally died down, all she felt was… exhaustion.Not victory. Not relief. Just the quiet ache of surviving another public trial she never asked for.Now, her focus had to shift.She was eight months pregnant and running on caffeine, stubbornness, and soft music that barely covered the hum of her sewing machine. Her apartment had transformed into something between a nursery and a startup. Fabric samples covered the couch, notes littered the coffee table, and mood boards leaned against the wall.Her new dream—her baby brand, Hope & Haven—was finally ready to launch.Or so she thought.Her phone rang.“Jessica, I’m sorry, but after recent media noise, our investors decided to pull out,” her project manager said over the call, his voice brittle with corporate apology.Jessica held the p
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