2026-05-21 00:16:03Vanessa was now sitting on the sofa, head in her hands, still cursing under her breath. The party around them continued, but their corner had gone strangely quiet.
Erick’s gaze moved toward the back of the lounge. Michel was gripping the arm of the young blonde girl, whispering something to her. She looked uncomfortable. Erick walked over casually and sat down beside her on the sofa. Up close, she looked even younger. “How old are you?” he asked softly. She hesitated. “…Twenty.” Erick didn’t believe her. He kept his voice low. “How much did Michel offer you?” Her eyes widened. She glanced toward Michel, then back at Erick. “He said it was just pictures,” she whispered. “Nothing else.” Erick pulled out a few folded hundred-dollar bills from his pocket and slipped them under her bag without drawing attention. “In two minutes, go out through the kitchen. Don’t use the main elevator. Tell him I was too aggressive and you got scared.” The girl stared at him, uncertain. “It’s the safest story for you,” Erick said. “Use it.” She gave a small nod. Three minutes later, she slipped away through the staff corridor. Michel didn’t notice. Dominique was waiting for him near the windows overlooking the city, arms tightly crossed. “Are you happy now?” she asked when he approached. Erick stopped a few feet away. “Was this your idea?” “No.” She sounded tired. “But I didn’t stop it either.” “That’s the problem.” Dominique turned to face him fully. “You always manage to embarrass me, Erick. Every single time.” He looked at her for a long moment. “You stood there and watched,” he said quietly. Her jaw tightened. “You think you’re better than all of this now?” Erick gave a small, humorless smile. “I want a divorce,” she said suddenly. He nodded. “Okay.” The speed of his answer seemed to throw her. “You’re actually agreeing?” “Yes,” he said. “I’m done.” For the first time in a long while, something like real surprise — maybe even hurt — flickered across Dominique’s face. But it disappeared quickly. “You won’t survive without this family,” she said coldly. Erick didn’t reply. Michel stormed over, furious. “Where the hell is she? What did you say to that girl?” Erick looked at him calmly. “She left. Said she didn’t feel safe.” Michel’s face turned red. He took a step forward, but Martin grabbed his shoulder. “Not here,” Martin muttered. Erick adjusted his shirt cuffs. “I’m going home.” As he walked toward the elevator, Dominique called after him. “Where are you going?” “Sleep,” he answered without turning around. The elevator doors closed. Only then did Erick let his shoulders drop. He leaned against the mirrored wall and closed his eyes for a moment. His phone vibrated. Aria: [Victor called an emergency board meeting. Word about tonight is already spreading.] Erick typed back with one hand. [Let it spread.] *** Erick woke to the sound of pipes rattling behind the wall. He sat up on the old couch in the storage room, rubbing his stiff neck. The same clothes from last night still smelled faintly of whiskey and Vanessa’s perfume. He stared at the two photos taped to the wall. One of his father, Lawrence Gerard, smiling in a rare unguarded moment. The other of Jacqueline — his ex-fiancée — with her sharp eyes and long black hair. He’d walked away from her without explanation five years ago. Sometimes he still wondered if that had been necessary. His laptop on the corner desk showed live data feeds. Victor’s movements. Laurent Corporation’s financials. Everything was lining up. The phone buzzed. Marcus. “Quade,” the board member whispered, clearly nervous. “We have the votes. Victor’s emergency loan to the Laurents is dead if we pull the trigger.” “Good,” Erick said. “Don’t tell him. Let him walk into tonight’s gala thinking he still controls everything.” Marcus hesitated. “He’s bringing a media crew. They’re planning to announce your death publicly to stabilize the stock.” Erick gave a small, dry smile. “Let them. I want to see who sends flowers.”
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Chapter 84—We Attack
The first contract delay arrived at 9:03 a.m. as a polite email.A mid-tier logistics partner that had worked with GD Tech for four years requested a temporary pause on a pending infrastructure renewal agreement. The language was careful. They cited internal review processes and the ongoing federal matters surrounding the company. No accusation. No open withdrawal. Just a pause that could stretch indefinitely if no one pushed back.By noon there were three more.Erick read each one in the restricted operations room without comment. The federal oversight already limited major transfers and system changes. Now the quiet isolation the intermediary had described was beginning to take shape in real time. Partners were not cutting ties. They were simply becoming cautious in ways that required no public explanation.Remi stood beside him, arms folded. “They’re doing exactly what he said they would. No speeches. No visible attack. Just distance.”“Yes,” Erick said. “And distance is harder to
Chapter 83— What We’re Searching For
The two dark cars stayed with them for eleven blocks.Jacqueline took a sudden left, then two rights through narrower streets. The cars adjusted without hurry, as if they already knew the route options. When she finally cut through a service alley and emerged on a different avenue, the tails were gone — but the message was clear.They had been allowed to notice.Back at the secondary facility, the atmosphere had changed. No one raised their voice. No one wasted movement. Erick stood at the central table while Aria replayed the surveillance fragments she had captured from street cameras. The vehicles were clean. No plates that led anywhere useful. No faces visible through the tinted glass.“They’re not trying to grab us,” Jacqueline said. “Not yet. They’re showing us they can sit on our shoulder whenever they want.”Remi stood with her arms folded tightly. “The general reported the conversation immediately. That was the point of letting you walk out.”Erick nodded. “He gave us a name f
Chapter 82— Very Confident or Very Stupid
The car stopped two blocks short of the address.Erick sat in the back seat with the window cracked just enough to let in the cold air. Remi was beside him. Jacqueline drove. No one spoke for a full minute after the engine cut off.The building was a quiet brick residential block on a tree-lined street. No doorman. No visible cameras at street level. The kind of place that looked forgettable on purpose.“Third floor,” Jacqueline said. “Corner unit. He’s been inside for forty minutes.”Erick checked the time. “We don’t go up. We wait.”Remi’s hands rested still in her lap. “If he panics—”“He won’t see us,” Erick said. “Not yet.”They watched.At 9:17 the general left the building. He was older than the photographs, silver hair cut short, dark coat, walking with the controlled pace of a man who had spent decades expecting to be observed. He carried nothing in his hands. A black car was already waiting at the curb. He got in without looking around.The car pulled away.Jacqueline follow
Chapter 81—Silent Pressure
The federal oversight order hit at 7:14 a.m.It arrived as a sealed digital packet, locked behind three layers of encryption and stamped with a court seal that basically said, don’t even try to argue.Erick read it once in the secure conference room of the secondary GD Tech site, then read it again, slower.While the investigation into the Global Tech Summit and the related system activity continued, operational control of Gerard Dominion Technologies was being placed under temporary federal review. From that moment on, any major money transfers, core system changes, or public statements needed prior clearance.He set the tablet down without saying a word.Remi watched him from across the table. The exhaustion from the Summit was still written all over her face, but she kept her posture
Chapter 80 — First Names
The temporary safe house was quieter than the Summit had been, but the silence carried more weight.Erick sat at the central table with the lights dimmed. The damp navy suit had been replaced by a clean black shirt and dark trousers, though the bandages under the fabric still pulled when he moved. Remi sat across from him. Jacqueline leaned against the wall. Aria’s hologram hovered above the table, already pulling data streams.“We start with the two names Dominique gave us,” Erick said. “The retired general and the private equity woman. We treat everything else as noise until we have a real trail.”Aria’s interface expanded. “I’ve cross-referenced both names against every financial and communications log we currently control. The general is easier to surface. Retired three years ago. Still holds informal advisory roles on two defense technology committees. The woman is harder. She operates through a private equity fund registered under three different holding companies. Most of the r
Chapter 79 — The Next Layer
Remi remained beside him, her hand still resting on the table near his.“They didn’t even flinch when you asked about the Clarkes,” she said quietly. “That’s not caution. That’s protection.”Erick nodded once. “Leroy lost the public battle today. His name is toxic now. Michel is finished. Evelyn will spend the rest of her life managing the fallout. But the Clarkes walked out of here without a single question. That doesn’t happen by accident.”He stood and walked to the glass wall, looking down at the main hall. Leroy was no longer visible. Neither were Martin nor the Congressman. The space they had occupied was already being cleared by event staff and federal personnel.Jacqueline entered the room a moment later, followed by Adrian. Ivan waited just outside with two of his men.“Federal agents are setting up a temporary command post on the third floor,” Jacqueline reported. “They’re treating the recordings as primary evidence against the Laurents. But there’s no active warrant for Mar
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