2026-08-13 22:47:13
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 132: The Dubai Consortium Enters
The call came through a line Leo didn't recognize, which meant it had already passed three filters that should have stopped it."It identified itself as a request for direct contact," Leo said, setting the transcript on the desk. "Not a solicitation. Not a cold approach. Whoever placed it knew exactly which number to use and exactly who would answer."Ethan read the transcript once. "Who is he.""Calls himself Julian Reyes. London-based. The number traces to a boutique advisory firm that doesn't list clients publicly, which usually means the clients don't want to be found by anyone without the right introduction.""And he has the right introduction.""He referenced the succession arbitration by case number," Leo said. "Not the public version. The sealed filing number, Ethan. That's not something you get from reading the financial press."Ethan set the transcript down. "Get him on the line."Reyes answered on the first ring, his voice unhurried in the particular way of a man who billed
Chapter 131: The Argument
Vivienne's grip tightened on the wheel."Asking takes time," she repeated. "That's your answer. Not 'I trust you to make your own choices.' Not 'I thought about telling you and decided against it for a reason you can defend.' Just — asking takes time, so I skipped it.""I'm not going to pretend otherwise.""At least you're consistent." Her voice stayed level, which took more effort than she wanted him to hear. "Do you understand what it felt like, Ethan? Noticing a stranger's coffee order four days running and realizing someone had been watching my life without my knowledge?""I understand it felt like surveillance.""It was surveillance. You just happened to be the one running it instead of Gerald."That landed. She heard it land — a half-second of silence on his end before he answered."That's not the same thing, and you know it.""Do I? Because from where I was sitting, two men decided what I needed to know and when I needed to know it. I don't actually care which side of this war
Chapter 130: Protecting Vivienne
Ethan ended the call with Vivienne and immediately dialed Leo."Two people," he said. "Discreet, not detail agents. I want them near Vivienne within the hour.""Does she know?""Not yet.""You're not going to tell her.""Not until they're in position." Ethan was already moving through the instructions in his head, sequencing them the way he sequenced everything. "If I tell her first, she changes her routine, confronts someone, does something that makes sense emotionally and gets her hurt anyway. I need the coverage in place before the variable moves.""She's not going to like finding out after the fact.""She's not going to like it either way," Ethan said. "I'd rather she be angry and safe than consulted and exposed."Leo didn't argue further. He knew the tone.The two people Leo selected had worked protection details before, but neither looked the part. A woman in her thirties who took the apartment across from Vivienne's building under a six-month lease that had apparently been open
Chapter 129: Vivienne and Gerald
"The document traces to the Hargrove financial archive," Fane said. "Confirmed this morning."Gerald didn't look up. "Which archive.""Household records. Personal accounts, correspondence, financial documentation the family keeps outside the corporate system." Fane set the report down. "It's not a corporate leak, Gerald. It came from inside the house.""Who had access.""That's the narrower question." Fane hesitated. "Desmond doesn't manage that archive personally — hasn't in years. Helena oversees the social correspondence. The financial records specifically fall under whoever handles the household's private filing.""Which is.""Vivienne."Gerald was quiet for a long moment."She had access," Fane said. "Legitimate, unrestricted, the kind nobody would think to monitor because nobody imagined she'd use it against her own family's alliance.""Motive.""She's been distant since the public statement. Distant with Cassandra too — called her the same day Desmond announced his support, and
Chapter 128: The Physical Threat Escalates
The dark sedan picked him up four blocks from the Cole Technology building.Ethan clocked it in the second block after that — same distance, same lane discipline, matching his turns without matching his speed. A second vehicle joined it at the next light, positioned to box rather than follow.He didn't call it in yet. He watched.Leo's voice came through the car's speaker before Ethan reached for the phone. "You're seeing what I'm seeing.""Both vehicles.""Both. They picked you up outside Cole Technology and they haven't broken formation once. That's not incidental.""It's not meant to be incidental," Ethan said. "If they wanted this invisible, it would be invisible. They want me to know.""Which means what.""Which means I need to think for a minute before I decide what it means." Ethan checked the mirror. Neither vehicle had closed distance in the last ninety seconds. "They're not trying to force contact. They're establishing that they can reach me whenever they choose to.""That's
Chapter 127: The Eighth Board Seat
Fane found Franklin Greer in the executive lounge at seven, coffee untouched in front of him."You haven't filed your position," Fane said. "The board secretary needs it before the session opens.""I'm aware of the deadline.""Gerald assumes you're with him."Greer looked up. "Gerald assumes a lot of things lately. Most of them haven't held."Fane sat down across from him. "Say what you mean.""I mean I watched Aldgate collapse. I watched the Cole Technology vote go through proxies Gerald never saw coming. I watched three legacy families decide, in the space of a week, whether standing near him was worth the exposure." Greer turned the coffee cup a quarter turn without drinking from it. "I've spent nineteen years reading which way a room is moving before the room admits it to itself. This room stopped moving toward Gerald some time ago.""Nineteen years of loyalty doesn't end because the room shifted.""Nineteen years of loyalty was never to Gerald personally," Greer said. "It was to
You may also like
Return of the son-in-law
Chessman78.7K viewsIncredible Oliver Storm
Dragon Sly107.4K viewsRise Of The Student Billionaire
Dragon Sly237.0K viewsRISE OF THE DISCARDED SON-IN-LAW
Sage Athalar83.2K viewsReturn of the Legendary Cyber King
Saint Rose135 viewsThe Illusionist's Burden
Tria175 viewsThe Bracelet: From Nobody to the Chosen One
Heeyya202 viewsSHE DUMPED ME FOR HER FIRST LOVE, NOW I’M HER BOSS
L writes 126 views