2025-08-07 22:27:28Jessica tugged at her blazer sleeve, pretending her hands shaking.
The press conference was supposed to be a reset—a confident front to reassure stakeholders and the media. But under the gloss, her world was cracking like cheap glass. Across the stage, the Benson Group’s legal counsel flipped through prepared statements. No one spoke. The murmurs from the journalists sounded like ocean waves threatening to swallow her whole. She glanced at the doors. He wasn’t here. Michael. Not even a message. “Of course,” she whispered under her breath. He always vanished when the pressure hit. Behind a one-way mirror in a side room adjacent to the conference hall, Adrian watched. No one knew he was there. Dressed in charcoal black, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. Beside him, Tasha stood quietly, holding a tablet, monitoring real-time engagement metrics. “She’s about to crack,” Tasha said. “Do we pull the trigger?” Adrian didn’t answer. His gaze was fixed on Jessica. The system whispered in his mind like smoke curling around his thoughts. System Notice: Active Mission – Observe Emotional Collapse Jessica Benson – Stress Index: 74% Recommendation: Remain unseen. Silence increases impact. He didn’t flinch. Jessica stepped up to the mic. Cameras flashed. Her throat felt dry, like she’d swallowed dust. “Thank you for coming,” she began, her voice firm—but not steady. There was a beat too long. Whispers started again. She pressed forward. “Recent reports about an unpublished patent involving Eleanor Cole have caused confusion in the market. We want to make it clear—we’re cooperating fully with all regulatory bodies. Benson Group’s integrity remains intact.” A reporter stood. “Is it true the patent was discovered through a hidden shell acquisition?” “I can’t speak to that.” “Then who owns 18% of Benson Group, Ms. Benson? Your latest reports show unknown private equity players are stacking shares.” Jessica blinked. She hadn’t expected that question so soon. “I… I can’t confirm those identities at this time.” “You can’t or won’t?” A harsh laugh escaped someone in the back. Jessica’s face flushed. Inside the mirror room, Adrian said nothing. Tasha checked her watch. “You know, if you wanted to ruin her, you just did.” “I’m not ruining her,” he said. “No?” “I’m giving her what she gave me—silence.” Back onstage, Jessica’s hands gripped the podium harder. “I’d appreciate if the media respected boundaries during this process—” “Were you aware Michael Kane has been meeting with rival investment firms? Rumor is he’s planning to jump ship.” Another punch to the ribs. The press laughed again. Jessica’s vision blurred, just for a second. “No further questions,” she said, turning away. But someone shouted—“Do you regret what you did to Adrian Cole?” She froze. Everything went silent. And for a brief, humiliating second, Jessica couldn’t move. Her legs felt numb. Her throat closed up. Cameras flashed again. And the footage was already going viral. “Cut the feed,” Tasha said. But Adrian didn’t move. His eyes were locked on the screen as Jessica’s image shrank, her back turned to the world. System Mission Complete. Reward: +1 Insight Level – Jessica Benson Unlocked Trait: Emotional Guilt New Optional Mission: “Show Her Mercy – Decline All Contact For 72 Hours” Reward: $100K + Emotional Recovery Boost Mercy? Adrian’s lip twitched. “Decline,” he said out loud. Tasha looked up. “You sure?” “I’m not done watching yet.” Jessica stormed out of the conference hall, throwing open the side door. Her assistant scrambled after her. “Ma’am—there are still reporters—” “Tell them I fainted,” she snapped, hands trembling. Outside, she leaned against the stone pillar, chest heaving. She took out her phone, opened her messages, and stared at Adrian’s old number. Empty. Dead. She typed: “Are you happy now?” But didn’t send it. Instead, she deleted the thread entirely. Michael wasn’t answering. Her father couldn’t speak. Her board barely respected her. And whoever this silent investor was—they were winning. She looked up at the sky, blinked back tears, and whispered to no one, “I miss you.” That night, Adrian sat alone in his apartment, a single lamp casting gold against the walls. He replayed the conference footage. Jessica’s face when they asked about him. The crack in her voice. The question she couldn’t answer. The look in her eyes. He wanted to hate it. He’d waited for that moment—for her to feel just a sliver of what he felt the day she let him walk away like trash. But watching her break didn’t feel like a victory. It felt like memory. Like the day she gave him soup when he was sick. Like the night she curled into his side and said, “Even if we lose everything, you’re enough.” And maybe that was the problem. He couldn’t unlove her. He could only bury it deeper. New Notification: Digital Identity Reboot Ready Activate? Yes / No He stared at the screen. Then, slowly, pressed: Yes. Rebooting… Adrian Cole, the ex-husband, the discarded man, the laughingstock of the city—was now dead. What rose in his place was something colder. Smarter. Richer. And no one would see him coming. The next morning, Jessica’s assistant ran in with a trembling hand holding a paper. “Ma’am… someone just acquired a 25% stake in Benson Group.” Jessica stood up so fast her chair crashed behind her. “What?! Who?” “Still unknown. But… the board is calling an emergency meeting.” Jessica’s heart sank. She was losing control. And somewhere, she knew— Adrian wasn’t gone. He was watching.
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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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