Chapter 30
Chapter 30:
Aurora walked to the window. She looked out at the skyline, toward the tower where Sterling Thorne sat.
“Exactly,” she said. “We launch before him. We capture the market. We suck the oxygen out of the room before he even takes a breath p>
“It’s risky,” Victor warned.
“It’s war,” Aurora corrected. “We crush them on launch day p>
Victor shivered. There was something in her tone—cold, calculated, ruthless.
“You really hate him, don’t you?” Victor asked quietly.
Aurora turned back. Her expression was blank.
“I don’t hate him, Victor. Hate implies emotion. I’m erasing him p>
Victor cleared his throat, adjusting his tie. He looked nervous but excited. He pressed the intercom button. “All hands meeting in the atrium. Now p>
Five minutes later, the entire staff of Pulse Interactive was gathered. They stood around the open-plan office, holding mugs, whispering. Aurora stood in the back, leaning against a pillar, invisible in plain sight, while Jones stood guard near the elevators.
Victor stood on a desk. “Listen up! As you know, things have been… tight p>
Nervous laughter rippled through the crowd.
“But today,” Victor continued, his voice rising, “I am proud to announce that we have secured a strategic partnership with Phoenix Ventures. We are fully funded p>
Cheering erupted. People hugged. Someone popped a bottle of cheap champagne.
Aurora watched them. She felt a small, warm satisfaction in her chest. This was power. Not the power to destroy, but the power to build. To feed families. To create.
Scene Shift: Thorne Industries Headquarters.
Elias Thorne was back in his office. He was seated in a high-backed ergonomic chair, a blanket draped over his legs. He looked pale, and there was a slight tremor in his hand when he reached for his pen, but his mind was sharp as a razor.
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Julian placed a thick dossier on the mahogany desk.
“Thorne Industries Turnaround: Three Years Ago,” Julian read the title. “Sir, I went through the archives as you asked p>
Elias flipped open the file. He scanned the charts. Revenue spikes. Strategic acquisitions. The ruthless culling of dead weight.
“Sterling took credit for all of this,” Elias murmured. “The media called him the ‘Wall Street Wunderkind p>
“Yes, sir,” Julian said, pointing to a specific document. “But look at this. The acquisition of OmniCorp. That was the move that saved the company. It was a genius stroke of countercyclical investing p>
“I remember,” Elias said. “It was brilliant. I assumed Sterling had hired a new firm p>
“He didn’t,” Julian revealed. “Sterling voted against it p>
Elias froze. He looked up. “What p>
“The board minutes,” Julian slid another paper forward. “Sterling voted ‘No.’ He called it ‘suicide.’ The motion only passed because of a series of anonymous memos that swayed the other board members. And a proxy vote from the Vance Trust p>
“The Vance Trust?” Elias asked, his eyes narrowing. “Sterling’s wife’s family money? I thought they were destitute p>