THE HIDDEN HEIR'S VENGEANCE

CHAPTER 9 : Shockwaves on the Trading Floor

Several days later,

The private trading room on the fifteenth floor of the Lane Corp Building reeked of cold sweat and electric tension. Mark Davies, the Junior Executive who had always looked down on Matthew, stood before a wall of giant monitors. His expensive Italian-cut shirt was already soaked at the armpits.

"Destroy him," Mark hissed, his eyes glued to the Aurora Mining stock chart. "Matthew thinks he's smart because of a little luck the other day beating Mr. Holt? Today I will teach him the difference between a lowly accountant and a true market player," he muttered in annoyance. His hands clenched tight with suppressed rage.

Beside him, his execution broker, a young man named Hugo Carter, typed at high speed. "Mr. Davies, we have already spread rumors about an environmental scandal at Aurora's main mine. Market sentiment algorithms are turning negative. Price is down three percent."

"That is not enough!" Mark snapped. "I want him to panic. I want him to sell at a loss and crawl to Viviane, crying for pocket money. Short that stock! Naked short as much as you can! Use my department's reserve funds!"

"But, sir... that is the operational fund for next quarter. If Mrs. Lane or CEO Viviane Lane finds out..."

"I said do it!" Mark gripped the back of Hugo's chair. "When this stock price hits zero, we will profit double, and I can cover the capital before anyone notices. Matthew just went in big there. Finish him!"

"Understood! Opening a short position worth five million dollars with 10x leverage!"

The chart on the screen responded. Red candles elongated downward like a waterfall of blood.

***

In a private coffee shop in the lobby of the same building, Matthew Thomas sat alone in the corner of the room. Before him lay only a thin laptop and a glass of cold Americano. His face was flat, but beneath his skin, his nervous system was screaming as a hologram panel floated on his retinas.

[Early Warning: Volatility Attack Detected]

[Actor: Mark Davies (Lane Corp Affiliated Account)]

[Attack Type: Predatory Short Selling]

[Estimated Impact: Total portfolio liquidation in 4 minutes.]

Matthew let out a long sigh. He had suspected Mark would not stay quiet after seeing him start to rise. Mark had always been jealous because Viviane chose to marry a "poor accountant" instead of him, a man from an elite family.

"ARC System," Matthew whispered soundlessly. "Show me the way out."

[Calculating Counter-Options]

[Selected Strategy: 'The Iron Trap']

[Mechanism: Allow the opponent to exhaust margin to suppress price, then execute a massive buyback in microseconds to trigger a 'short squeeze.']

[Hard Warning: Execution requires 98% neural synchronization.]

[Price to Pay: Temporary damage to eye capillary network (partial blindness for 30 minutes) and Level 8 migraine.]

[Accept?]

Matthew felt the pulse in his temples harden. The pain had not arrived yet, but he knew it would feel like hell. He looked at the photo of Viviane on his phone screen, his wife who always looked tired from bearing the burden of the company alone. He had to be strong for Viviane.

"Accept. Destroy Mark," he hissed softly.

As Matthew pressed the Enter key, the world around him slowed down. The sound of conversation in the cafe turned into a low hum. His eyes felt hot, as if boiling sand were being poured into his eyelids.

The buy orders launched. Not one, but thousands of small orders disguised by the ARC System algorithms, swarming the market like piranhas.

***

"Mr. Davies! Something is strange!" Hugo Carter yelled, his voice sounding panicked.

Mark, who was pouring whiskey into a glass, turned quickly to stare at the giant monitor. "What? Is he bankrupt already?"

"No... Look at the Order Book! A giant buy wall has appeared out of nowhere! Someone is absorbing all our dumping!"

On the giant screen, the chart that had been free-falling suddenly stopped. It trembled. Then, a giant green bar shot up, piercing the roof.

"What the hell is that?!" Mark dropped his glass. Whiskey soaked the expensive carpet. "Who is buying that trash?!"

"The price is bouncing! Ten percent... fifteen percent up! Our short position is red, sir! We are losing money!"

"Hold! Hold the position! That is just a dead cat bounce! It must be a temporary correction!" Mark shouted, his face turning pale as cold sweat began to prick his skin.

"No, sir! It is a squeeze! The other sellers are panicking and starting to buy back to cover losses! The price is skyrocketing! Thirty percent!" Hugo typed with violently trembling fingers. "The brokerage system is giving a margin warning!"

The phone on Hugo's desk rang. A red light flashed. Mark stepped back, bumping into the desk behind him. "Don't... don't pick it up."

Hugo looked at Mark with a gaze of horror, the young man appearing terrified. "That is the Central Risk Department, sir. If I don't answer, they will force liquidation."

"Turn off the computer! Pull the plug!" Mark screamed irrationally.

"It is too late!" Hugo immediately picked up the receiver, listened for a moment, and his face turned into a mask of death before he slowly hung up the phone.

"What?" Mark asked, his voice hoarse.

"Margin Call," whispered Hugo. "They liquidated your entire position. The department operational funds... gone. Minus twelve million dollars."

Mark slumped to the floor. His legs could no longer support his weight. "Gone? Twelve million... That is company money. Carol Lane will kill me... Viviane will fire me..."

"That is not all," Hugo pointed to the screen, which now displayed the name of the majority buyer revealed in the exchange data. "Look who took all that money."

Mark looked up, staring at the giant monitor. There, in the transaction data row, was an account code he recognized. M. Thomas Private Equity.

"Matthew..." Mark growled. "That bastard!"

***

Ten minutes later, Mark ran down the emergency stairs toward the lobby, his breath ragged. He saw Matthew sitting in the corner of the cafe, the man wiping blood dripping from his nose with a white handkerchief.

Matthew's eyes looked reddened; the blood vessels in the whites of his eyes burst, making him look terrible and frightening.

"You!" Mark lunged at Matthew's table. "What did you do to me?!"

Matthew did not move. He only glanced at Mark with a blurred gaze that slowly began to refocus. The pain in his head felt like a drill piercing his skull, but he held it back with a flat face.

"I am drinking coffee, Mark. What are you doing during work hours?" Matthew asked calmly.

"Don't play dumb! You manipulated the market! You trapped me!" Mark slammed the table, making other customers turn to stare and whisper. "Give that money back! That is Lane Corp money! If Viviane finds out you stole company money..."

"Stealing Matthew cut in, his voice cold and sharp. "You were the one who opened a short position with illegal leverage using division funds. I only bought the stock you threw away. That is called the free market, Mark," he said cynically.

Mark trembled. His anger was replaced by pure fear. "Matt... please. Let's talk about this. You know my position, right? If this is revealed in the audit tomorrow morning, my career is finished. I could go to jail for embezzlement. You are Viviane's husband, right? Please... help me. Cover this up."

Matthew sipped his coffee slowly, ignoring the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. "You ask me to help you after you tried to bankrupt me today? After you insulted my wife at the board meeting last week by saying she chose the wrong husband?"

"I... I made a mistake. I am sorry. Please, Matt." Mark Davies begged, full of hope.

Matthew Thomas then stood slowly, leaning his body forward to look directly into Mark's petty soul.

"Go back to your office, Mark. Pack your things, and if you want a lesson on business ethics..." Matthew smirked thinly, "ask my mother-in-law, Carol Lane. She will be delighted to hear you lost twelve million dollars of her money," Matthew said flatly, then turned and walked away, leaving Mark frozen with a shattered expression.

As Matthew stepped out of the lobby, a transparent notification appeared in the air, the hologram panel floating on his retinas once more.

[Mission Success: Perfect Counter-Attack]

[Net Profit: $14,500,000]

[Level Up: ARC Level 2]

[Reward Unlocked: 'Contract Lock']

[Description: Ability to see hidden clauses and legal loopholes and force absolute contract compliance on the opposing party.]

Matthew wiped the remaining blood from under his nose. "A fair price," he muttered. "Now, time to see my beloved wife."