Chapter 109 Chapter 109: “For your wrist,” he said, not looking at her. Aurora took it. She pressed the cold plastic against her skin where Sterling had grabbed her. It was already bruising. “Girlfriend?” Aurora asked, raising an eyebrow. “That was quite a performance, Mr. Thorne p> Elias looked out
Chapter 108 Chapter 108: Sterling turned. His eyes widened. “Uncle… Uncle Elias p> Elias Thorne stood there. He was wearing a trench coat that cost more than Sterling’s car. He looked like a statue carved from ice and fury. He didn’t look at Sterling. He looked at Aurora. His eyes
Chapter 107 Chapter 107: “It’s… thank you,” he said, his voice flat. It was the most ridiculous object he had ever seen. Veronica smiled, reaching out to touch his arm. “So, Elias, about the gala next week p> Elias flinched slightly at her touch. He checked his watch. “I have
Chapter 106 Chapter 106: “Checkmate, Elias,” she whispered. She reached out. Her fingers brushed his chest. Elias woke with a gasp. He sat bolt upright in his king-sized bed, heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. His skin was flushed. He looked down. The silk sheets were tangled
Chapter 105 Chapter 105: “Why are you standing around?” Sterling screamed. “Get back to work! Fix the servers p> He spotted Greg. He saw the fear in Greg’s eyes. “You,” Sterling pointed. “You’re the artist, right? Why do the textures look like garbage compared to Pulse p> “Sir, the engine—I
Chapter 104 Chapter 104: Vultures, all of them. Aurora walked through the glass doors. She wore a sharp black blazer over a white silk camisole, her jeans swapped for tailored trousers. She looked like a CEO. She looked like war. Victor King met her at the elevator. He was beaming,
Chapter 103 Chapter 103: A smile, small and sharp, touched his lips. Of course. The bird that rises from the ashes. It was her. It was Aurora. “Who is Phoenix?” Leo asked, taking the tablet back. “Is that the dev? Nobody knows who they are. They’re like a ghost p>
Chapter 102 Chapter 102: “Sir p> “I said stop the damn car!” Sterling shouted. He couldn’t go in there. Not with the cameras. Not with Jones guarding the door. If he stepped out, he would be the desperate ex-husband crashing her victory party. The narrative would slip from his fingers.
Chapter 101 Chapter 101: Sterling stood alone in the silence. The room felt enormous. Cold. He paced. He needed to rationalize this. It couldn’t be his fault. He was the Wall Street Wunderkind. He was the visionary. “She sabotaged me,” he muttered, grabbing his hair. “She used that venture capital
Chapter 100 Chapter 100: “What p> He opened the news app. The headlines screamed at him in bold, black letters: THORNE’S CELESTIAL FLOP: THE BILLION DOLLAR DISASTER. Below it, a smaller article: APEX ASCENDANT EXPANSION SHATTERS DOWNLOAD RECORDS. Sterling stared. The words didn’t make sense. It was like reading a
Chapter 99 Chapter 99: Sterling Thorne was at the launch party in the lobby. He held a flute of champagne, laughing with a group of investors. He hadn’t checked his phone. He wanted to enjoy the moment. His pocket vibrated. He ignored it. It vibrated again. And again. Back on
Chapter 98 Chapter 98: SCAM. Go back to Apex. Cash sighed. He rubbed his temples. “Fine. Let’s switch to Apex. At least the beta was stable p> He maximized Apex Ascendant. He clicked Start. There was no loading screen. No logos. No pop-ups. One second, he was looking at the
Chapter 97 Chapter 97: “Alright, chat,” Cash said into his microphone, his voice booming. “It’s showtime. We got two drops tonight. Thorne’s brand new IP ‘Celestial Dominion’ and the massive 2.0 update for Apex Ascendant p> He pulled up the title screen for Apex. It was sleek, minimalist. Just the
Chapter 96 Chapter 96: Back in the penthouse, Aurora’s phone buzzed. It was a single vibration, short and sharp. She picked it up. A text from Victor King, the CEO of Pulse. “Internal source at Thorne confirms: Smear campaign launching in 2 hours. Accusations of malware and data theft. Bots
Chapter 95 Chapter 95: Harper processed this. Slowly, a grin spread across her face. It started small, then consumed her features. She let out a breathless laugh. “You’re a secret tycoon,” Harper whispered. “My best friend is a secret tycoon p> “Not just a tycoon,” Aurora said, a glint of
Chapter 94 Chapter 94: Aurora didn’t look up immediately. She stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the city lights that she now practically owned. She took a sip. The wine was complex, oaky, exactly the kind of vintage Sterling used to hoard for himself. It tasted like victory.
Chapter 93 Chapter 93: A mark. A crescent moon on the inner arm. She pulled back her own sleeve. Her arm was smooth, flawless. Blank. She cursed silently. She didn’t have it. But now she knew what to look for. Find the girl with the moon on her arm. Pulse
Chapter 92 Chapter 92: Matriarch Vane saw her. She waved the bodyguards aside. “Victoria,” Matriarch Vane whispered. The two old women locked eyes. Nineteen years of silence, broken by shared pain. Matriarch Vane reached out. Matriarch Kensington took her hand. “We are two old fools,” Vane said, her voice cracking.
Chapter 91 Chapter 91: “Fix it!” Sterling slammed his hand on the desk. “I don’t care how. Hack them back! DO something p> He sank into his chair, running his hand through his hair. He was losing. On every front. Back in the Bentley, the car came to a stop
Chapter 90 Chapter 90: He opened an auction site for rare antiquities. Item: 16th Century Hand-illustrated Compendium of Eastern Herbal Medicine. Annotated by the Imperial Physician. Price: $250,000. Elias clicked Buy Now. He didn’t even look at the shipping cost. The rain had turned into a steady, rhythmic downpour by