2025-08-07 22:26:16“Confirmed,” the voice in Adrian’s ear said. “That’s the last signature. The debt is yours.”
He didn’t respond. From the rooftop terrace of an anonymous office building downtown, Adrian stared down at the skyline. The city glowed beneath him—high-rise towers like chess pieces, every window a secret, every floor a move waiting to be made. His phone buzzed. The system pulsed to life. System Notification: Mission Complete – Covert Debt Acquisition Phase I Benson Group Internal Debt Acquired: 3 Shells x 2.4% ownership each Total Stake Now: 18% (Undisclosed) He slipped the phone back into his coat. From this height, the Benson Group building looked smaller. Fragile. Like it could break apart with a single gust of wind. And Adrian was almost ready to blow. Downstairs, in a dim-lit boardroom, Jessica tried to keep her voice steady. “What do you mean the investors backed out?” Her assistant fumbled with papers. “Two pulled this morning. One filed to sell their stake… to a new buyer.” Jessica’s chest tightened. “Who?” “They’re listed under shell corporations: Argent Holdings, Darrow Ltd, and SEI Capital.” She went still. Not familiar. Not public. Not safe. She yanked open her laptop and pulled up the shareholder log—her fingers trembling. The names were there, all right. Spread across ten percent of her father’s empire. Quiet. Steady. Growing. Someone was dismantling her from the inside. Adrian walked into Tasha’s loft that evening. She was waiting by the kitchen island, red wine in one hand, a hologram of company stocks spinning in the air beside her. “You’re late,” she said. “I don’t rush.” Tasha smirked. “You might want to.” She waved a hand, bringing up a glowing blueprint. It was a patent. A detailed, multi-layered structure coded with her late mother’s ID—Eleanor Cole. “Found it buried inside an unpublished filing. Your mother registered it four years before she died. Quantum behavior interface. Way ahead of its time.” Adrian stared at it. “She built the system around this,” he said quietly. Tasha nodded. “And Jessica’s company has been sitting on it—without even realizing.” He clenched his jaw. “They don’t deserve it.” “No,” she agreed. “But we do.” Meanwhile, Jessica sat alone in her father’s hospital room. Machines beeped steadily around her. His face was pale, lips cracked, eyes closed like he was floating in some place she couldn’t reach. She held his hand tighter than she needed to. “I’m trying, Dad,” she whispered. “I swear I’m trying.” A nurse entered to check vitals. Jessica stood up, barely holding it together. Then her phone buzzed again. Unknown Number: “You’re standing on borrowed time.” She looked around the room, heart pounding. “Who are you?” No reply. She turned back to her father—and for the first time since this all began, she cried. Across the city, Adrian sat with Tasha in silence. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, voice low. “We push the patent story next. Leak a fake press release—make it seem like Benson Group’s tech arm is under audit. Watch how the market responds.” Tasha nodded. “You’ll start a firestorm.” “That’s the point.” “But Jessica will panic.” “I’m counting on it.” Tasha gave him a long look. “Still not over her?” Adrian didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. The next morning, news broke. “Benson Group Facing Tech Audit? Rumors Swirl Over Missing Patent Registrations” It spread like wildfire. Forums lit up. Stock forums speculated. Small investors started selling. By noon, Benson Group stock dropped 8.6%. Jessica’s board demanded answers. She stood at the front of the meeting room, hands shaking behind her back. “This is a smear campaign. There is no audit.” Her CFO leaned forward. “Then where’s the patent?” She blinked. “What patent?” Dead silence. Someone slid a copy across the table—a printed screenshot of Eleanor Cole’s signature and the tech schematic. Jessica stared at it. No one had told her about this. She didn’t even know Eleanor had been involved in their R&D. “This wasn’t… this wasn’t part of our registry.” Her voice cracked. The board members exchanged glances. Confidence was already bleeding out the walls. In a hidden server room beneath Tasha’s office, Adrian keyed in a line of code. System Access Request: Surveillance Override – Benson Group Internal Servers Authorization Key: Cole-MK-1 Granted. Screens flickered to life. Emails. Meeting recordings. Accounting reports. Real-time location tracking on Jessica, Michael, and the board. Adrian stood there as the system unfolded everything. New Mission: “Watch Her Break.” Duration: 48 Hours Reward: Emotional Metrics Upgrade + Bonus Stake Offer from SEI Partner He didn’t smile. He just stared. Jessica’s image appeared on the screen—walking fast, phone to her ear, clearly shaken. Then another screen: Michael in a hotel suite, pouring himself whiskey in the middle of the day. A third screen: the boardroom—tense, silent, anxious. Adrian leaned back. Everything was falling into place. Jessica sat at her desk later that night, laptop open, hands over her face. She hadn’t eaten. Hadn’t slept. Michael hadn’t shown up. He wasn’t answering her calls. She glanced at the framed photo on her desk—her, her father, Adrian. It used to make her feel safe. Now she just wanted to smash the glass. Her intercom buzzed. A delivery arrived—anonymous envelope. She opened it. Inside: a flash drive. No note. No label. She hesitated. Plugged it into her laptop. A video file auto-played. Security footage. Her and Michael. The night Adrian walked in on them. Except this time… there was audio. Michael: “She’ll throw you out, watch. Her dad’s money is all I need.” Jessica froze. The screen showed her laughing. She didn’t remember laughing. The words hit harder than they should have. She slammed the laptop shut, chest tight. Who sent this? Back in his dark apartment, Adrian stood in front of a mirror. He stared at himself—not the broken man she threw out, not the failure everyone saw. He adjusted the collar of his shirt. Then his phone buzzed again. System Update: Phase II in motion. Identity Erasure pending. Recommend digital rebirth within 72 hours. Adrian closed his eyes. The past was dying. And something colder was rising in its place.
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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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