2025-08-07 22:25:01The room smelled like power—aged scotch, expensive perfume, and polished ambition.
Investors filled the private hall in tailored suits, crystal glasses in hand, voices low and polite. Waiters moved between tables like shadows. The spotlight wasn’t on Jessica tonight—but she knew it would swing her way. She stood near the head table, her smile frozen, hands trembling just enough to make her wine ripple. “Relax,” Michael muttered, adjusting his cufflinks beside her. “You’ll scare them.” Jessica shot him a glance. “Easy for you to say. You didn’t just lose 8% of your company overnight.” Michael offered a smug smile. “That’s what you get for letting your ex get in your head.” She stiffened. “You think Adrian has the resources to pull this off?” Michael chuckled, taking a sip. “I think your guilt is making you paranoid.” Jessica didn’t answer. Her phone buzzed in her clutch—an unknown number. She ignored it. But she couldn’t ignore the sensation crawling up her spine. Eyes. Someone was watching. She scanned the room—and froze. Across the crowd, sitting quietly at the far end of the hall, a man leaned back in a velvet chair, face unreadable, arms folded. Adrian. He wasn’t on the official list. He wasn’t seated with investors. He didn’t speak to anyone. But he was there. And he was watching everything. Adrian didn’t drink. Didn’t eat. Didn’t speak. He simply observed—Jessica laughing too loudly, Michael bragging to men who didn’t care, the subtle exchanges between old-money players who treated Jessica like a wounded animal. System Notification: Mission in Progress – Emotional Suppression Active. New Data Acquired: Investor Influence Web – Jessica Benson, 32% compromised. He tuned out the system’s hum and focused on body language. Jessica’s heels clicked too fast across the marble. Her smile faded as soon as backs turned. Michael kept checking his phone. And the investors—they smelled blood. Tasha arrived fifteen minutes late. She didn’t sit with Adrian. She didn’t need to. Their plan had already begun. She whispered into the ear of a tech mogul, then slid a USB into another’s pocket. Subtle. Precise. Controlled. Adrian’s mother would’ve approved. Jessica approached one of the older investors—Mr. Torres from Kensington Capital. He gave her a smile laced with pity. “Miss Benson. Quite a year.” “I appreciate you still taking the time—” “I don’t usually invest in ghosts.” Her smile cracked. “Excuse me?” He shrugged. “Your company’s bleeding. Your father’s out. You’re under attack. And your board can’t protect you. That’s a grave, not a bet.” Jessica opened her mouth—but couldn’t find the words. From across the room, Adrian watched it happen. He didn’t smile. But the pain in his chest wasn’t satisfaction either. It was something colder. Michael found his way to Adrian’s table, clearly forcing confidence. “You’ve got balls showing up here.” Adrian didn’t look at him. “I could say the same.” Michael leaned in. “Still chasing scraps? Thought you’d disappear after Jessica threw you out.” Adrian finally looked up. “I don’t chase anything. I wait. And watch.” Michael smirked, but his eyes twitched. “I’m not scared of you.” Adrian tilted his head. “Then why are you sweating?” Michael looked down—tiny beads of moisture dotted his collar. He straightened and walked away without another word. System Notification: Insight Scan Activated – Michael Kane Shell Company: MK Holdings Ltd. – Fraudulent Paperwork Flagged Location: Macau Bank Crosswire Confirmed Adrian stared into his drink. Not a drop had been touched. Jessica stepped outside to catch her breath. The night air was cooler than she expected, sharp with the scent of rain and exhaust. Her phone buzzed again—same unknown number. She almost blocked it. But curiosity won. She answered. No voice. Just silence. Then, a recording. Her own voice, from a week ago: “You’re pathetic, Adrian. You’ll never be more than a useless man living off my father.” Her stomach twisted. Who had that? She turned—just as a shadow moved past the glass door behind her. Adrian. She stormed back inside. He was already rising from his seat when she reached him. “Wait,” she said. He paused. People were watching now. Jessica stepped in front of him, heart pounding. “Why are you here?” “I was invited,” he said calmly. “By who?” He said nothing. “Are you buying my company?” Still nothing. “You think you’re punishing me? You think this is revenge?” He finally met her eyes. “If I wanted revenge, you’d already know.” She swallowed hard. “Then why?” He stepped closer, voice low. “Maybe I’m just here to watch it all fall apart.” The words hit harder than she expected. She slapped him. A sharp sound that echoed across the marble floor. The entire room froze. Adrian didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink. He simply looked at her, eyes ice cold. System Notification: Emotional Suppression – 100% Complete. Reward: Bonus Feature Unlocked — “Digital Identity Erasure.” He walked away. Jessica stood shaking, breath caught in her throat. Michael rushed up beside her. “What the hell was that?” She barely heard him. Across the room, Adrian disappeared through the side door. Later that night, in the back of a blacked-out car, Tasha handed Adrian a small tablet. “This is the footage. Jessica losing control. Investors will start pulling within 48 hours.” Adrian didn’t react. Tasha glanced sideways. “You okay?” He stared out the window. “My mother used to say—revenge isn’t loud. It’s quiet. It’s clinical. It’s clean.” Tasha smirked. “She was right.” He nodded. “We’re not done yet.” She raised a brow. “What’s next?” He looked down at the tablet again. “Debt acquisition. Then surveillance access. I want eyes on the boardroom.” Back at Jessica’s penthouse, her phone buzzed again. One message. “You’re being watched.” No sender. No trace. She looked around the empty apartment and whispered, “Adrian… what are you doing?” But the real question was— Who was he now? And how much of him had she destroyed?
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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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