2026-01-21 05:19:05
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CHAPTER 23: THE FIRST MOVE
The boardroom on the forty-seventh floor had floor-to-ceiling windows that framed the city like a conquest already won. Ethan arrived early—not out of nervousness, but because he'd learned long ago that controlling the space meant controlling the narrative. He adjusted his cufflinks, a nervous habit from another lifetime that he'd never quite shed, and took his seat at the head of the mahogany table. Victor Reeves entered exactly three minutes late. Intentionally late, Ethan knew. Everything Victor did was intentional. "Ethan." Victor's smile didn't reach his eyes as he claimed the seat directly across from him, the power position for a challenger. "Thank you for accommodating this emergency session." "Emergency." Ethan let the word hang in the air between them. "Interesting choice of terminology for a scheduled quarterly review." The other board members filtered in—eight faces Ethan had worked with for years, built relationships with, earned trust from. He watched Victor's gaze s
CHAPTER 22: CATHERINE'S CHOICE
Catherine showed up at his door unannounced on a Saturday morning, carrying two coffees and a look that said she wasn't leaving without answers. "We need to talk." Ethan had been dreading this conversation for weeks. He let her in. Noah was at a friend's house for a playdate—Ethan had made sure of that. Whatever happened in the next hour, his son didn't need to witness it. They sat at the kitchen table. Catherine set down the coffees but didn't drink hers. Just held it, like she needed something to do with her hands. "You've been lying to me," she said quietly. "Catherine—" "Not about big things. Not about other women or money or anything normal. But you've been lying about something. And I need to know what it is." She looked at him directly. "Because my mother almost died. Then she had a second stroke that the doctors can't explain. And you looked at me in that hospital like you knew exactly what was happening but couldn't say it." Ethan's chest tightened. He'd known this mo
CHAPTER 21: INVESTIGATION
Ethan spent the first day of his "sabbatical" in the public library. Not his office, where Wei's team might monitor him. Not his apartment, where Noah might see what he was researching. The library—anonymous, public, with computers that didn't track back to him. He needed to understand Victor Chen. Really understand him. Not just his current moves, but his history. His pattern. The fifteen years of rebirths that had turned him into what he was. Wei had given him a file, but Ethan suspected it only contained what Wei wanted him to know. He needed to dig deeper. He started with public records. Victor Chen, age 38 (allegedly). Born in San Francisco to immigrant parents. Stanford undergrad, MIT graduate school. First job at Goldman Sachs. Left after three years to start his own fund. Standard Silicon Valley success story. Nothing remarkable. Except for the gaps. Victor's LinkedIn showed employment at Goldman from 2009-2012. But Ethan found a news article from 2011 mentioning "Vict
CHAPTER 20: NEW RULES
Wei summoned Ethan to his office at dawn, before anyone else arrived at the building. "We need to talk about what's happening to you." Ethan sat down, exhausted. He hadn't slept properly in weeks. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Catherine's mother in the hospital, Helix Innovations collapsing, Noah asking if everything was okay. "What's happening to me is Victor's trying to destroy my life." "No. I mean physically happening to you." Wei pulled out a tablet, showed him medical data. "When did you last get a full physical?" "I don't know. A year ago? Before all this started." "You need to get one. Now. Today." Wei's expression was grave. "Because if I'm reading the signs correctly, you're aging faster than you should be." Ethan blinked. "What?" "Look at yourself. Really look." Wei turned the tablet into a mirror app. "Compare this to photos from six months ago." Ethan studied his reflection. He looked tired, sure. Stressed. But aging? Then Wei pulled up a photo
CHAPTER 19: WAR BEGINS
The attack came on a Tuesday morning, disguised as opportunity.Ethan was having breakfast with Noah when his phone rang. An unknown number with a San Francisco area code."Mr. Hale? This is Jennifer Walsh from Pacific Tech Ventures. We'd like to discuss a partnership opportunity.""I'm not looking for partnerships right now—""It involves a company you've been tracking. Synaptic Systems. We understand you have significant interest in their AI platform."Ethan paused, fork halfway to his mouth. He hadn't told anyone about his research into Synaptic Systems. It was a private analysis, something he'd been developing quietly over the past two weeks."How did you know I was interested in Synaptic?""We have mutual connections. Listen, I don't want to discuss this over the phone. Can we meet? Today, if possible. The opportunity is time-sensitive."Every instinct screamed trap. But Ethan needed to know how they'd learned about his private research."Fine. Coffee at noon. You choose the plac
CHAPTER 18: THE REAL GAME
Wei called an emergency meeting the morning after the conference. "My office. Now. Don't tell anyone where you're going." Ethan arrived to find Wei's door locked, blinds drawn. The older man sat behind his desk, looking more serious than Ethan had ever seen him. "Sit." Ethan sat. "What's going on?" "You met Victor last night. What did he tell you?" "That he's been resetting for fifteen years. That there are about two dozen people with our ability. That he's offering me a truce if I stay out of pharmaceuticals." Ethan paused. "And that he's willing to destroy me if I don't." "He's being modest. There aren't two dozen. There are hundreds." Wei pulled out a tablet, showed Ethan a map covered in red dots. "These are confirmed reborns we've identified in the past ten years. 347 individuals across forty-three countries. And those are just the ones we know about." Ethan stared at the map. Red dots clustered in major cities—New York, London, Tokyo, Singapore. "How is this possible?"
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