2025-07-03 13:12:49Trent was halfway through a lazy story about one of his party nights when Carla burst into the Voss living room, breathless and wide-eyed.
“Turn on the TV,” she gasped. “Channel 5. Now.”
Everyone looked up. Mara lowered her wine glass. Vivian adjusted her shawl. Dray, annoyed, grabbed the remote and switched the channel.
The screen blinked, then cut to a stern-faced news anchor sitting behind a sleek glass desk. The words flashing on the screen behind her made everyone freeze.
**BREAKING: BRIGHTSTAR SOFTWARE COMPANY ACQUIRED BY KANETECH HOLDINGS.**
“What?” Trent said, sitting up. “That’s a joke, right?”
Mara’s eyes locked on the screen. “No,” she whispered.
The anchor spoke clearly, her tone urgent. “We’ve just confirmed that KaneTech Holdings, led by heir Elias Kane, has officially acquired BrightStar in a complete private buyout. The deal was signed late last night. Sources say it was quiet, fast, and undisputed.”
Carla’s hand went to her mouth. Dray leaned forward.
“No one even knew BrightStar was for sale,” the anchor continued. “But Elias Kane paid in full. And today, he becomes the legal owner of one of Chicago’s most powerful energy companies.”
Mara blinked slowly. “He… bought BrightStar?”
“That’s impossible,” Dray muttered. “How did he get the rights? The contracts? The money?”
Vivian’s face had gone pale. “If he can buy BrightStar, what’s next?”
The anchor’s voice cut through again.
“Joining us live from the BrightStar building is Elias Kane himself. This is his first official public statement since claiming to be the son of Amelia Kane — the late CEO of KaneTech.”
The screen shifted. And then he appeared.
Elias Kane.
Standing tall in a sharp black suit, no longer the janitor they remembered. His face calm, confident. Behind him, the BrightStar tower gleamed with a new KaneTech logo on a banner above the entrance.
He looked like he owned the world.
The reporter beside him smiled nervously. “Mr. Kane, thank you for joining us. Everyone’s wondering the same thing—why BrightStar? Why now?”
Elias looked into the camera, his voice smooth and quiet.
“I worked in the shadows for years. Everyone assumed KaneTech was done. That it had no one. But KaneTech was never dead. It was sleeping. And I didn’t come back for revenge. I came back for legacy.”
Mara stared at the screen, her heart pounding.
Dray crossed his arms. “He’s putting on a show.”
Elias continued, “BrightStar holds documents tied to the 2015 contract between the Voss Group and my mother, Amelia Kane. That contract was never meant to disappear. Now it’s mine.”
Trent jumped to his feet. “What contract?”
Vivian's lips parted slightly. She said nothing.
Elias’s voice stayed calm. “This isn’t personal. It’s correction. My mother built a trillion-dollar empire. Some tried to bury it. I’m here to uncover it.”
The reporter looked stunned. “You’re saying you bought BrightStar to access Voss Group records?”
“Yes,” Elias said. “And because this is only the beginning.”
The reporter hesitated. “And… your net worth? Reports say you’re worth more than the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. Is that true?”
Elias gave a small smile. “Numbers are just numbers. What matters is control.”
Trent cursed under his breath.
Mara leaned back in her seat. She could feel her hands shaking.
“I was nothing to them,” Elias said. “Until I stopped asking for their approval.”
Vivian whispered to herself, “My God. He’s doing it. He’s really doing it.”
Back in the room, the atmosphere was heavy. Carla looked like she couldn’t breathe. Dray grabbed his phone, already dialing.
“This isn’t good,” he muttered. “If he’s got access to Voss contracts, he could expose—”
Vivian stood. “Quiet.”
Everyone froze.
Vivian turned to Mara. “Did you know this?”
Mara shook her head slowly. “I didn’t even know he could do something like this.”
Trent scoffed. “Well, congrats. Your janitor ex just bought one of our biggest companies.”
Mara didn’t respond. Her eyes were still locked on the TV screen.
The anchor returned as the interview ended.
“Elias Kane has made his first major move, shaking the foundation of Chicago’s power structure. The Voss family has yet to release a statement. We’ll continue to follow this story.”
The screen faded into commercials.
Silence.
Only the hum of the TV remained.
Mara stood up and walked to the window. Outside, the city looked the same — glowing buildings, cars buzzing by, people living their lives. But inside her, something cracked.
“He was serious,” she whispered. “He’s not bluffing.”
Dray turned to Vivian. “Do you know anything about that 2015 contract?”
Vivian hesitated. “There were talks. Meetings with a foreign company. We signed some documents… I took the KaneTech contract shares before they were officially allocated to Amelia. I thought it was over when she died.”
Mara spun around. “What if it wasn’t?”
No one answered.
Trent rubbed his temples. “Okay. Let’s say he has the contract or evidence. So what? What’s he gonna do, sue us?”
Carla looked over. “What if he’s not just coming for lawsuits? What if he wants to take everything?”
Dray was already pacing. “We need a legal team on this. Now. We need to find out what BrightStar gave him access to.”
Mara stepped forward. “And what if we can’t stop him?”
Dray stared at her. “We always stop people like him.”
She didn’t believe it.
Vivian slowly sat back down. “I told you,” she said. “Amelia’s son would be dangerous. She didn’t raise a fool.”
Trent huffed. “He still used to mop our floors.”
Mara turned. “And now he owns the building.”
Silence again.
She walked back to her seat, her legs heavy.
She thought of their anniversary. Of the streetlight. Of the ring she took from his hand.
She had laughed when Carla gave him the papers. Had looked away when he begged for answers. Had told him he was nothing.
And now — now he was everything they feared.
“I left him,” she murmured, almost to herself. “I left him, and now he’s coming for all of us.”
Carla shifted uneasily. “What if the press starts digging into you, Mara? What if people start asking questions? You divorced the heir to a trillion-dollar company.”
Mara didn’t reply.
Dray’s phone buzzed. He looked down, frowning.
“What is it?” Vivian asked.
He hesitated. “The board wants an emergency meeting. They want to know what we’re doing about… him.”
Mara sat back down, her expression blank.
“What are we going to do?” Carla asked.
No one had an answer.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy-Nine
The wind shifted before anyone spoke. It carried the faint smell of dust and iron from the training yard, but inside the strategy hall the air felt locked in place, held tight by everything Elias had refused to say earlier. He stood at the center of the room with his arms folded, eyes tracing the map spread across the long table. He wasn’t really seeing it—just using it to keep from looking at the others.Rhea lingered near the doorway with her hands on her hips, breathing slowly as if she were counting to ten for the sixth time that morning. Cassian sat on the table’s edge, tapping the heel of his boot against one of its legs. Even that light sound rang sharp in the silence.Elias finally looked up. “I wasn’t hiding anything,” he said. “I was thinking before acting. That’s all.”Rhea stepped forward. “You disappeared for six hours without your comms and came back with blood on your collar. Thinking is not what it looked like.”Elias touched the mark she meant. He had forgotten it was
Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy-Eight
Smoke rolled across the forest floor like a living thing, pulled by the wind in long gray ribbons that twisted between the trees. Elias pushed through it with one arm braced under the prisoner’s weight, his breath burning from the sprint. Behind him, shouts echoed—disoriented, angry, scrambling. The enemy camp had erupted into chaos the moment Roan’s charges blew, but chaos wasn’t safety. Chaos was unpredictable. And unpredictability killed faster than any blade.“Keep moving,” Elias said, his voice low but steady.Mara appeared beside him, half-carrying another prisoner. Her hair was plastered to her forehead, her breaths sharp, but her eyes remained clear and focused. “They’re fanning out behind us. Two units, maybe three.”Elias nodded. “Roan and Faris?”“If their side of the plan worked, they’re long gone,” Mara replied. “But whether they circled back to help us or not… I don’t know.”A branch snapped somewhere behind them. Elias stiffened. He gestured for everyone to duck, guidin
Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy-Seven
The rain started just before dawn, a thin, cold drizzle that turned the ridge into a slick mess of mud and wet stone. Elias stood beneath the overhang of a jagged boulder, arms crossed, watching the horizon blur into shifting gray. The forest below seemed half asleep, its usual sharp edges softened by mist.Mara approached with two steaming cups in hand. “If you don’t drink something hot, you’re going to turn into stone yourself,” she said, pressing one cup into his palm.Elias took it, the warmth seeping into his fingers. “Sleep?” he asked.“None,” she replied. “You?”He shook his head. “Didn’t have the luxury.”Mara leaned against the boulder beside him, sipping slowly. “The scouts are back. They found tracks—heavy ones. Wagons, armor crates, maybe artillery.”Elias stiffened. “How many?”“Too many for casual patrol. Whatever they’re planning, they want this ridge badly.”A quiet tension settled between them. Elias felt the familiar weight begin to pull tight across his shoulders, t
Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy-Six
Elias woke to the distant sound of gunfire echoing through the valley below. He rubbed his eyes, his body aching from the constant tension of the past days, but there was no time to linger. Mara had already left the tent, moving among the squads, issuing orders, checking positions. He swallowed a dry breath and stepped out, the cold morning air stinging his lungs.“Another night without sleep?” Mara asked, appearing beside him almost silently. Her dark eyes scanned the ridge with that unyielding intensity he had come to rely on.Elias shook his head. “I keep thinking about how they regroup. Every skirmish teaches them something. If we’re not careful, we’ll walk right into it.”Mara rested a hand on his shoulder. “We’ve survived worse. You don’t need to carry it all alone. That’s why I’m here.”He nodded, but his mind was already elsewhere, replaying the intelligence reports. “The scouts spotted movement in the northern woods. Small units, probing. They’re testing our flanks, trying to
Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy-Five
The dawn broke with a muted light, the forest still heavy with mist, and Elias stood at the edge of the ridge, surveying the territory. The aftermath of yesterday’s clash had left its mark—trampled grass, broken branches, and the faint metallic scent of blood—but it also served as a reminder of their resilience. Mara moved alongside him, her eyes sharp, scanning every shadow, every movement in the distance.“We can’t afford to rest,” Elias said quietly, almost to himself. “They’ll regroup. They always do.”Mara’s gaze flicked toward him. “You sound exhausted, but you’re already planning the next move.”Elias turned to her, his expression grim. “I can’t stop thinking. Every misstep yesterday could cost lives today. We’ve beaten them back once, but they’ve learned. We need to anticipate, adapt, and strike before they can even organize themselves.”Mara nodded, her lips pressed into a thin line. “And we will. We always do. But you can’t do it alone. You need to trust the team, Elias. Let
Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy-Four
The first light of morning barely touched the ridge when Elias stirred from his restless sleep. The air was crisp, carrying the faint scent of smoke and dew, and the quiet murmur of the camp gave the illusion of calm. He pulled his jacket tighter around him, stepping toward the edge of the ridge to survey the forest beyond. Every movement, every sound, was under his scrutiny; every shadow seemed to hold the potential for danger.Mara was already awake, moving among the soldiers, checking equipment, and ensuring readiness. She noticed Elias and approached him quietly, her footsteps silent against the hardened soil. “You’ve been awake for hours,” she said, her voice low but carrying that unmistakable edge of command.“I couldn’t sleep,” Elias admitted, his eyes never leaving the tree line. “I keep replaying last night’s engagement. The way they moved, how they adapted, the way Victor’s men tried to flank us.”Mara’s gaze followed his. “And?”Elias exhaled, frustration and determination
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