Chapter 51
Chapter 51:
Sterling thought he was the predator. He had no idea he was walking into a bear trap.
A courier arrived at the Obsidian Tower concierge. He held a small, wrapped package.
“For Ms. Vance,” the courier said.
Aurora opened it upstairs. Inside was not flowers, but a first edition of “The Art of War” and a handcrafted ebony chess piece—a Queen. There was no card.
Aurora frowned. She assumed it was a threat from Sterling. Or perhaps a weird mind game.
“He’s trying to intimidate me,” she muttered, tossing the priceless book onto her desk.
She didn’t know they were from Elias.
Pulse Interactive was ready.
“Publish the quarterly report,” Aurora commanded.
Victor King pressed the button. The financial data for Pulse Interactive went live, revealing the massive revenue spike from Apex Ascendant and the confirmed government contract. It wasn’t just a game. It was a declaration of war.
Within ten minutes, the stock prices soared. The gaming community went wild. The comments scrolled so fast they were a blur.
User_99: Who made this engine? The physics are insane.
GamerGod: This looks better than Thorne’s Celestial Dominion, and it’s already playable.
TechReview: RIP Thorne Industries.
Sterling was in a meeting with shareholders when his phone blew up.
“Have you seen this?” a shareholder interrupted, holding up a tablet.
Sterling watched the live revenue ticker on the big screen. He saw the fluid movement of the stock graph, the sheer financial perfection. He scoffed.
“It’s inflated. Short-term hype. It will crash p>
𝖂𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖎𝖙 𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖉:
“It’s a scam,” he assured them, sweating slightly. “Pulse is faking the numbers p>
Elias Thorne sat in his private office, reviewing the Pulse financials. Victor had sent them to him securely. He studied the profit margins—they were sustainable. The operational costs were lean. He paused and looked at the credits listed in the report.
Lead Developer: Phoenix.
Elias smiled. It was a rare, genuine expression that softened the hard lines of his face.
“Phoenix… Rising from the ashes,” he murmured.
He connected the dots. Aurora Vance. Vance meant forward. Phoenix meant rebirth.
He picked up his phone.
“Hold the liquidation,” Elias ordered his broker. “Execute the new strategy. Buy Pulse stock through the shell companies. Defend them from Sterling’s takeover, but do it quietly. Be the Mystery Buyer p>
Sterling received the news an hour later. A “Mystery Buyer” was blocking his acquisition, matching every bid he made. He screamed at Lance.
“Find out who it is! Who has deeper pockets than me p>
To distract the media from Pulse’s success, Sterling called a press conference. He brought Isabella on stage. They stood in front of a wall of roses. He flashed a massive diamond ring on her finger.