rning - A

er desk, staring at the p

d William, caught in a private moment of quiet closeness. Not inappropr

a decla

He's invading your life. Your home. What's the

e paranoid. Distracted. He's sending a me

dropped. "I

Then we stop letting him

g in cybersecurity. Lock down everything. And find out h

Helix Corpor

ce-but seething internally. Across from him sat Laura

elix. Publicly aligning with a scandal-prone founder during

st publicly exposed corporate sabotage a

ictory doesn't clean your slate.

steppin

ou to." She paused,

silence

n of Aetheris-silent, under Helix control. We clean her up, strip the

l. "You're asking

ng you to s

he re

dead in the eye.

Night - Emm

ightning carving the sky above Man

t him in, not bothering to hi

ge," she said.

the photo,

t one

ed sharpl

to of her, leaving his building two

heart

ose," she said. "He wan

eplied. Then he pau

oposed acquisition. The implicit threat

idn't

you going to

d. "And to say this: I won't let them gut what

thing unreadable passin

o that?

id softly.

hback: Eight Ye

alms sweaty, her portfolio clutched too tightly. Sh

her mentor, her early investor..

ietly transferring patent control into a shell company. When she fought back, he dragged her through court

ppeared a

il

x that morning... w

uasive. And he's offered a very generous price for a story only I can

, the message replaying i

sn't just r

eing wea

ening - Willi

drinks. Neat

he arrived. Her body was tens

gently, "that I don't need you t

hat if the real me has don

k. "Then we de

t Marcus had done, how she

ened, never

she waited-for judg

id was reach

That's not sham

e raged and the shadows of their pasts threat

e with William be

ecause he chose

- Donova

creening room, watching the grainy video foo

"Lang says he wants tri

the screen. "Pay him. I want

smi

story," he said. "But they