2026-02-15 07:39:22Chris woke to warmth beside him and a dull, throbbing ache behind his eyes. For a moment, he smiled into the pillow, comforted by the familiar curve of a body pressed close to his.
The smaller frame of the figure backing him confused him but his mind was still foggy, slow to question anything.
“Charlotte…” he murmured, voice hoarse, reaching out blindly.
His fingers brushed the skin. Smooth. Warm.
He turned lazily, still half-smiling, ready to pull her closer till he froze.
The face of the naked body beside him was not Charlotte’s.
Chris sucked in a sharp breath, panic slamming into him so hard it knocked the air from his lungs. His heart began to pound violently as he scrambled backward, clutching the sheet to his chest.
It was Veronica and she was wide awake now, watching him.
His mouth opened, but no sound came out at first.
“What… what are you doing here?” his voice cracked.
“Where’s Charlotte?” he asked.
Veronica sat up slowly, calm in a way that made his skin crawl.
“Good morning, Chris.” She said,
“No way,” Chris thought, shaking his head. “No, no… Why is Veronica in my bed?” he stopped abruptly, memories crashing back in broken flashes.
The blindfold. The fog. The way his body had felt heavy, disconnected.
His stomach twisted.
He stumbled out of bed, fumbling for his clothes, hands shaking so badly he could barely button his shirt.
“This is a mistake.” He said frantically, more to himself than her.
“Charlotte… she was here. I was with my wife.” He said, confused.
The door burst open.
Charlotte walked in first.
Behind her were Lucas, Bianca, two men in suits carrying briefcases and several bodyguards.
Lawyers. Bodyguards. Chris felt his world tilt.
She looked devastated as she talked, “Chris! You slept with my step mom? You disgusting piece of shit!”
“No, no, no, Charlotte. Please listen to me. I had no idea what happened last night. I swear.” Chris tried to explain but before he could finish, Veronica stood up from the bed abruptly.
“Charlotte… thank God you are here. Your husband… he assaulted.” Veronica said.
“What!?” Chris exclaimed.
“Chris Greene, I want a divorce now.” Charlotte demanded.
“Wait… you gave me a drink last night, and then… wait, did you two set me up? Why? I thought we were fine last night, Charlotte.”
Charlotte smirked. Then she dropped the divorce paper on the table.
“You cheated. That’s all the court needs to hear.” She said with a smile.
Chris stared at the paper in disbelief then threw it on the floor.
“My stepdaughter deserves a man with power. Not… whatever you are.” Veronica said as she looked at Chris.
Charlotte took a cigarette from one of her bodyguards and moved closer to Chris, “You, Mr. fuckup, were never good enough for me.”
Chris picked up the paper, “Fine. You want a divorce?”
He took his pen and signed, “You got it.”
Charlotte and Veronica laughed mockingly at Chris.
“I’ve never seen anybody so happy to be broke.” Charlotte said as she grinned.
“What?” Chris was confused.
“Oh. I take everything. Not that you have much but the five million dollars for the app is mine now. You walk away with nothing.” Charlotte said in one breath.
“No, no, no, no. That’s not happening.” Chris said loudly.
“Boys!” Charlotte called out to her bodyguards.
“Make sure he agrees. Go the hard way if he struggles.” She finally said as she stepped back for the bodyguards to do their work.”
Chris tried to fight back but they outnumbered him.
He was sent out of the mansion, without his phone or clothes, looking badly bashed and injured.
Chris sobbed as he walked.
“Charlotte Wood, you didn’t just set me up. You took everything from me.” He said as he looked up to the sky.
Under a moon glowing with unnatural light, as birds sang at the wrong hour and the wind whispered like it understood him, Chris made a promise,
“Charlotte Wood, I swear on my fucking life. One day, I’m going to have you begging on your knees for what you did to me!”
As his words faded into the night, cars appeared as if summoned, lining up before him.
“That car… that’s the Godfather’s car.” He stared in disbelief as he looked at the car.
Chris stood rooted to the spot while a beautiful woman in a black suit and several men stepped out.
“The Mikaelson syndicate… They run this city and the Godfather, he is the king of every mafia in this city.” Chris muttered to himself in utter shock.
Together, they bowed to him.
Lynda, the beautiful woman spoke. “Mr. Greene, the Godfather wishes to see you.”
Chris stood frozen, his breath hitched as he stared at her in disbelief.
…
The study was lined with dark mahogany panels, the scent of burning oakwood logs rising from the stone fireplace behind him. The fire burned steadily, casting a low amber glow across the room and over the collection of antique brass clocks, ivory figurines, and framed relics arranged with deliberate care.
On the walnut desk in front of him lay two Beretta pistols, placed openly, as though they belonged there.
The Godfather stood tall, a hand-carved briarwood pipe between his fingers. Smoke drifted slowly from the bowl as he exhaled, the tobacco rich and heavy. His golden-grey hair was neatly slicked back. He wore a perfectly tailored black Italian suit, paired with a gold silk tie that caught the firelight.
Nothing about him was hurried. Nothing about him was uncertain.
Even without a word, the room obeyed him.
Lynda walked in and bowed respectfully, “Don Mikaelson, Mr. Greene is here.”
Chris was made to kneel in front of him.
A cold shiver ran down his spine.
What could the Godfather possibly want with a man who had nothing left to lose?
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Chapter Hundred
After the call, he walked up to Chris, “Sir, I have informed him. Tomorrow, a date for a meeting with the directors would be set.”Chris nodded his head, “Good. I don’t want us to waste time. Set the meeting as soon as you can. Let us get rid of the weeds from the root and save this dying company”“Yes, sir.” Adrian said as he slightly bowed and walked out to make a call to Silas again.Chris stretched slightly, his eyes a little bit dim. “Let’s go back to the mansion. We will continue from where we stopped tomorrow.”Adrian finally sighed in relief, “Yes, sir. I will get the car ready.”Few minutes after, Chris and Adrian walked out of Mikaelson Global like they hadn’t just turned the whole city upside down in few hours.Back at Thorne’s enterprise. Michael still tried all he could but when he saw that all hopes was lost, he became erratic.He turned to the engineers, “You all are dead!”Then he turned to Marcus, “Take them all to the dungeon.”Melinda and the others screamed, “Sir..
Chapter Ninety-nine
As the night wore on, the predictive threads of the market began to reveal themselves with startling clarity. Chris could see the hidden partnerships, the unreported transfers, the secret accounts. Every loophole the Thorne family had relied on for decades became transparent, exposed to his vision.Adrian’s voice came again, quieter this time. “Sir… they’re trying to offload more personal shares. Some are moving assets offshore. Others are liquidating private holdings.”Chris nodded slowly. “Allow them to. Let them believe they are buying time. Every action feeds the model. Every reaction strengthens our prediction. By the time they realize what has happened, they will have already handed over their empire.”Adrian’s fingers hovered over a keyboard. “Sir… with this much insight… with this much control… we could dominate the entire city’s market. Not just the Thorne Group.”Chris’s eyes flicked toward him, glowing with an intense blue light. “Yes. And that is exactly what we will do. B
Chapter Ninety-eight
“Keep buying,” he said finally, his voice steady but commanding. “Do not let the price fall below the floor. We will stabilize.”A younger engineer shook his head slightly. “Sir, the liquidity is… insufficient. They are taking every opportunity. We cannot match their pace.”Michael’s gaze hardened. “Then we do what we must. Offer personal holdings. Private shares. Whatever is needed to prevent the banks from seizing control.”The words carried weight. It was a move that the engineers didn’t want to consider. Selling personal shares meant handing over parts of the family’s own empire to an unknown buyer. But survival demanded sacrifice.Meanwhile, Chris remained calm in his office, watching the flow. The system had anticipated every reaction.Every defensive measure by the Thorne Group triggered calculated counter-actions. BODAS was not just trading, it was dismantling the family’s grip piece by piece, turning their desperation into opportunity.Adrian’s voice broke the quiet. “Sir… th
Chapter Ninety-seven
Immediately, the engineers tapped on their keyboards violently searching for answers and solutions.The answer came, though no one wanted to say it.Several minutes passed and still there was no improvement.Melinda thought of a solution and gently raised her hand.Michael looked at her, “Yes? Ms. Melinda?”Melinda cautiously moved forward, “Sir, with the look of things, the stocks keep dropping. I would suggest that we release shares.”The room went quiet. That was not a small decision.That was not something Michael Thorne would do lightly.Michael’s expression did not change. “How much?”Melinda swallowed. “Enough to maintain liquidity.”Michael’s eyes remained on her “And if we do not?”The answer was immediate. “The banks will move.”That meant seizure. Control over the Thorne’s enterprises and several losses.Michael exhaled slowly.Then he made the decision. “Prepare the sell orders.”The room did not react immediately. Engineers were sceptical at first. They were about to start
Chapter Ninety-six
Adrian had stopped trying to keep up with everything at once. Instead, he focused on the areas Chris pointed to, trusting that the system itself was handling the rest.Chris remained seated this time, his attention steady, his posture relaxed in a way that made the situation even more unsettling.“Bring up Thorne Group’s primary holdings,” he said.Adrian did not ask questions. “Yes, sir.”The screen shifted.A cluster of major companies appeared, each one tied directly to Silas Thorne’s core operations. These were not secondary partners or smaller suppliers. These were the pillars of his influence.Adrian studied the numbers carefully. “They are already taking losses,” he said.Chris glanced at the screen. “How much?”“Initial drop is around fifteen percent across their flagship companies,” Adrian replied. “But it is accelerating.”Chris nodded once.“They are trying to contain it.”“Yes, sir,” Adrian said. “They are injecting capital, attempting to stabilize prices.”Chris leaned ba
Chapter Ninety-five
Back in the office, Adrian was still watching the feeds closely making all their efforts futile.“They cannot identify the source. No matter how hard they tried to.” he said confidently.Chris’s expression remained unchanged. “They are not meant to.”Adrian adjusted one of the displays, bringing up a live overview of the market.A pattern was forming. At first, it looked chaotic.But the longer he watched, the clearer it became.“This is not random,” Adrian said quietly.Chris glanced at him. “No,” he said. “It is controlled.”Adrian leaned closer to the screen.“It is moving like… like something is guiding it.”Chris allowed a faint smile. “Something is.”The system continued its work. BODAS did not hesitate in any way. It did not slow down. It adjusted in real time, countering every attempt to resist its influence.“Sir,” Adrian said, “some of the larger institutions are pulling out entirely.”Chris nodded. “They are trying to survive.”Adrian looked at him. “Will they?”Chris’s answ
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