2025-12-04 15:15:26The next evening arrived dressed in gold and glass.
The Grand Eclipse Centre, venue for the Global Business Conference, rose like a cathedral of ambition. A red-carpet walkway cut through marble steps; the vibe of conversation and camera flashes filled the cool night air. Derick stepped from the car with the quiet authority of someone who never needed to announce himself. His suit was cut in midnight black, the lapels catching the light like a blade. Lily followed, clipboard in hand, an earpiece gleaming beneath her hair. “Dankey’s team checked in,” she murmured as they passed security. “They’ve reserved a signing suite on the mezzanine. Press is waiting.” Derick nodded once. “Keep it smooth. No improvisation.” Inside, the building was all mirrored surfaces and strategic lighting, designed to make every guest look a little more powerful than they were. Waiters drifted between clusters of executives carrying crystal glasses; the scent of perfume and expensive cologne mixed with the soft rhythm of a live string quartet. Lily guided him through the crowd. “Everyone’s talking about the rumored deal,” she said quietly. “But no one suspects CrownLink is us.” Derick’s gaze swept the room. He recognized faces he hadn’t seen in years, old rivals, cautious allies, a few men who’d once laughed when Reed Innovations publicly disgraced him. They smiled now, polite and uncertain, sensing the shift in the air without knowing where it came from. A tall man approached, his badge reading Dankey Industries, Regional Head. “Mr. Cole,” he said, the name Derick used when working through Titan’s front. “We’re honored. Your proposal was…..unexpectedly perfect.” Derick shook his hand, voice calm. “Titan believes in efficiency.” “Then let’s make it efficiently official,” the man said, gesturing toward the signing suite. Lily handed Derick a folder. “Everything’s prepared,” she whispered. In the private suite the noise fell away. Cameras were ready: reporters waited behind a velvet rope. A banner displayed CrownLink Holdings x Dankey Industries, Strategic Alliance 2027. Derick scanned the contract quickly, initials already printed in digital ink. Dankey’s chairman lifted his pen.“To a prosperous partnership.” Derick signed. Flashbulbs erupted. In that split second the world shifted again: the contract Reed Innovations once called its heartbeat now belonged to Titan’s shadow. Lily’s phone buzzed. She checked the live feed and gave a small nod. “Every major network has picked it up.” Derick slid the pen across the table. “Let the show begin.” Outside the suite, applause echoed as the press release hit the main hall. Screens displayed the headline in real time: DANKEY INDUSTRIES SEALS EXCLUSIVE ALLIANCE WITH CROWNLINK HOLDINGS. For most, it was just business news. For one woman across the city, it would be ruin. He and Lily left the suite, blending into the flow of guests heading toward the main lobby where the gala reception had begun. The air buzzed with speculation, who were these new power players, what would it mean for the market, and what was left for Reed Innovations? Lily glanced at her tablet. “Reed’s delegation just arrived. Charlotte’s name is on the guest list…..and so is Brian Stone.” Derick’s steps slowed fractionally. “And Petrina?” “Oh she's here.” “Good.” They reached the foot of the marble staircase that led to the lobby doors. Music spilled down from above, elegant and hollow. Beyond the glass entrance, black cars were stopping one after another, photographers snapping. Lily adjusted her badge. “Do you want to avoid them?” “No.” Derick’s tone was flat. “I didn’t do anything wrong to have guilt in me.” The main lobby opened into a dazzling stretch of light and mirrors. Chandeliers floated overhead. Around them, conversations turned in waves, small, hushed exclamations as people recognized the man from CrownLink, unaware he was the ghost of another empire. “They’re here.” Lily informed Derrick. Reed Innovations’ team entered cautiously, led by Petrina in a sleek silver suit. Charlotte followed two steps behind, her expression wary. Brian hovered at Petrina’s shoulder, whispering something that made her nod without listening. Cameras flickered even though their company had begged the press for restraint. “They look…..smaller,” Lily murmured. Derick said nothing. His eyes found Petrina instantly. For a heartbeat she didn’t notice him. She was busy keeping her composure, lips curved in a professional smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Then Brian stilled mid-sentence, gaze locking past her. Petrina followed it. Her breath caught. Across the gleaming floor, Derick stood with one hand in his pocket, face unreadable. Lily glanced at him, whispering, “You said she wouldn’t see you.” “I said she wouldn’t know,” he replied quietly. His eyes held, no anger, no nostalgia, only a cold recognition. But hers held nothing but hate. Before anyone could move or say anything Brian was already moving towards Derrick. “You thief!” He yelled, gaining the attention of every single businessman and woman who were in the lobby.
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Public Accusation
“You thief!”Brian’s voice cracked through the polished air like shattering glass.Every single conversation that was ongoing stopped.Dozens of heads turned; cameras that had been idling for celebrity shots swung toward the commotion.Derick didn’t flinch.He stood where he was, one hand still in his pocket, Lily beside him like a quiet shadow.Brian’s shoes clicked sharply across the marble as he closed the distance.“You thought you could come here, after you stole from Reed? and hide behind whatever this new scheme is?” His voice was the perfect tone for the microphones already picking up whispers.People began to murmur.Someone near the staircase said softly, “Isn’t that Sekwiga the leech of a son-in-law? The one who got divorced?”Another voice answered, “What’s he even doing here? This conference is for power players.”“The nerve he has” some began laughing.Derick’s gaze stayed level, the faintest trace of boredom in his eyes.Petrina finally moved forward a step.Her silver
Brian’s Outburst
The next evening arrived dressed in gold and glass.The Grand Eclipse Centre, venue for the Global Business Conference, rose like a cathedral of ambition.A red-carpet walkway cut through marble steps; the vibe of conversation and camera flashes filled the cool night air.Derick stepped from the car with the quiet authority of someone who never needed to announce himself.His suit was cut in midnight black, the lapels catching the light like a blade. Lily followed, clipboard in hand, an earpiece gleaming beneath her hair.“Dankey’s team checked in,” she murmured as they passed security. “They’ve reserved a signing suite on the mezzanine. Press is waiting.”Derick nodded once. “Keep it smooth. No improvisation.”Inside, the building was all mirrored surfaces and strategic lighting, designed to make every guest look a little more powerful than they were.Waiters drifted between clusters of executives carrying crystal glasses; the scent of perfume and expensive cologne mixed with the sof
A Ghost In The System
The building of Titian Holdings stretched high above the city of New York, casting a shadow on other business enterprises and buildings, as if boosting its superiority.The building looked like power carved into stone, quiet, exact, and untouchable.Derick walked through the private corridor toward his office, jacket over one arm, tie loosened.From the elevator to his floor, everyone who crossed him moved aside chanting a series of good morning’s and good day’s.When he stepped inside, Lily was already there. She stood near the panoramic window, tablet in hand, her expression unreadable.“The reports from the assignment I gave you Lily,” he said simply.She handed the tablet over. “Reed Innovations closed yesterday at a thirty-two percent drop. Four minor partners have suspended contracts. The banks that froze their lines aren’t answering calls.”Derick scrolled. “And their internal morale?”“Low. Staff leaving. Investors circling like vultures. They’re down to two days of liquid cas
High-Risk Alert
By late afternoon the office looked like a crisis war room.The air-conditioning couldn’t even fight the heat of panic; every screen showed new numbers, all sliding red.Petrina stood by the glass wall, phone pressed to her ear again.“No, listen,” she said into it, trying to sound steady. “Reed Innovations has never defaulted. The system error will be fixed by morning.”The line went dead before she finished. She lowered the phone slowly.Charlotte hurried in. “Two more contracts were canceled. The suppliers want advance payment before they ship a single component.”Petrina turned. “Advance? But we’ve….we’ve never paid in advance.”“I know,” Charlotte said. “But they’re spooked. Something’s poisoning our credibility.”Petrina’s voice wavered. “They must have heard lies, from Derick’s side.”Charlotte frowned. “You really think he’d go that far? Are you really going to take Brian’s word for it?”“He’s vindictive,” Petrina snapped. “You saw what he did at the gala, acting like a victim
The First Strike
By Tuesday morning the air inside Reed Innovations already felt wrong.Phones were ringing more than usual, and every voice sounded a little too careful.Petrina stepped out of the elevator clutching her tablet.“Good morning,” she called.No one answered. Her assistant only gave a thin smile before vanishing down the hall.She walked into the conference room where Charlotte was pacing between chairs. “What’s going on?”Charlotte looked up.“One of our partner banks froze a credit line overnight. They said it’s ‘temporary’ while they re-evaluate risk exposure.”“Risk exposure to what?” Petrina’s eyes narrowed.Charlotte shook her head. “They didn’t say. I’ve been calling since six a.m.”Petrina exhaled sharply. “We just renewed that facility last quarter. They can’t—”“They did,” Charlotte said. “And two suppliers are holding shipments until payment clears. If this keeps up, we’ll miss the Dankey contract delivery.”“What payment? We’ve never paid for any additional thing!”Charlotte
Phase One
Derick sat on the edge of the bed, still wearing yesterday’s shirt, staring at the city skyline through the window.Last night replayed in fragments, the lights, the stares, Petrina’s voice cutting through him like glass. ‘Worthless.’ ‘Seven years wasted.’He’d thought he was already numb to it all, but it still hurt.The hotel suite was quiet.He’d signed the divorce papers, left the gala, driven aimlessly for hours before finally coming here, to one of his own buildings, a forty-story glass tower under a name no one connected to him.The penthouse had been empty for years, waiting for a moment he hoped would never come.Now it was here.He stood, walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows, and looked down at the city below, his city.Half the skyline existed because of Titan Holdings. She never knew that.Derick picked up his burner phone and dialed one of the only people who knew about his real identity.The phone rang once before she picked up.“Sir, are you alright? I saw the news. S
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