LOGINThe summer sun poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Valcor Tower, turning the glass walls into mirrors of the bright blue sky outside. The city below carried on as if nothing had happened over the last few days.Inside Valcor...Everything had changed.The biggest headline of the morning was no longer the scandal surrounding Zero Degree Holdings.It was the engagement.Aizen Deveraux and Samantha Laurent.Photos from the luxurious engagement party flooded every business news outlet. The smiles. The champagne. The rings. The handshake between the Deveraux and Laurent families.To the public...It looked like strength.Like two powerful empires standing even closer together despite every rumor trying to tear them down.Inside Valcor, congratulatory voices echoed through the hallways."Congratulations, Miss Laurent.""You looked beautiful at the party.""We're looking forward to the wedding."Samantha accepted every compliment with graceful smiles."Thank you.""You're too kind
By the time Estella opened her eyes, sunlight had already spilled across the bedroom floor.The curtains were half open, letting warm summer light filter into the room. Outside, Vesper City had already settled into another busy morning. Cars drifted through the streets below, and somewhere nearby, a lawn sprinkler ticked rhythmically against the pavement.Her head throbbed.A dull ache pulsed behind her temples.She frowned before slowly sitting up."..."The room was unfamiliar for a second.Then everything from last night crashed back into her mind.The wine.The balcony.Lionel.Linda.Aizen.Her hand instinctively flew to her neck.A bandage.She touched it carefully before letting out a quiet sigh."So I really did that..."The bedroom door opened gently.Linda peeked inside first."There you are."She smiled, although her eyes still looked swollen from crying."You finally woke up."Estella offered an apologetic smile."What time is it?""Almost noon.""...No wonder my head feel
The apartment felt strangely quiet after Linda left.The soft click of the front door echoed through the living room before silence settled over everything again.Estella stayed on the balcony without moving.Summer nights in Vesper City were usually warm, but tonight a gentle breeze drifted between the high-rise buildings, carrying the distant sounds of traffic and faint music from somewhere across the city.She already knew where it came from.The engagement party.Aizen and Samantha.She didn't need to see it.She could almost picture it.Crystal chandeliers.Expensive champagne.Elegant smiles.Flashing cameras.A perfect future.A future that didn't have room for her.Her fingers tightened around the stem of the wine glass resting on the small table beside her.She slowly looked toward the apartment across from hers.Dark.No lights.Of course.He wasn't home.He was celebrating his engagement.A bitter smile tugged at the corner of her lips."...Congratulations, Mr. Deveraux."H
The summer night over Vesper City was warm, but the air carried a strange heaviness.From the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Grand Ardent Hotel, the skyline shimmered beneath thousands of golden lights. Luxury cars lined the entrance while photographers crowded behind velvet barriers, flashes bursting every few seconds.Tonight wasn't just another high-profile gala.It was a statement.The official engagement of Aizen Deveraux and Samantha Laurent.After days of relentless headlines dragging Vraux, Troyan, and even Valcor into public controversy over the Zero Degree scandal, both families had chosen the simplest weapon available.Appear stronger than ever.If the media wanted chaos...They would answer with elegance.Crystal chandeliers illuminated the grand ballroom, reflecting soft gold across polished marble floors. A string quartet played quietly in one corner while politicians, executives, and investors exchanged polite smiles that hid careful calculations.Nobody came tonight s
The executive floor of Valcor Tower felt unusually quiet that morning. The silence wasn't natural. It was the kind that settled over a place after everyone had already read the headlines but no one wanted to be the first to speak. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, Vesper City slowly came back to life after an early dawn shower. The rain had washed the skyline clean, leaving behind thick gray clouds that still hung low over the city. Sunlight struggled to break through, turning the glass towers into muted silhouettes. Below, traffic gradually filled the streets while television crews gathered outside financial buildings across downtown. Every television inside Valcor displayed the same breaking news. Zero Degree Holdings officially under financial investigation. Project Orion once again becomes the center of public scrutiny. Inside the CEO's office, the muted voices of news anchors blended with the distant rumble of thunder. Aizen Deveraux stood before the enormous gl
The first cracks appeared before noon.By the afternoon, they had become fractures.And by evening, the entire corporate landscape surrounding Orion was shaking.Inside Valcor's executive floor, tension hung thick in the air.Every screen seemed to display the same headlines.ZERO DEGREE FINANCIAL INVESTIGATION EXPANDSAUTHORITIES EXAMINING POSSIBLE LINKS TO MAJOR CORPORATE PARTNERSORION PROJECT FACES NEW QUESTIONSThe investigation that Estella had deliberately forced into existence was now moving under its own momentum.And momentum was dangerous.Because once a machine started rolling downhill, nobody could guarantee where it would stop.Or who it would crush.Several floors above the executive offices, a board meeting had already turned ugly.Representatives from Troyan were demanding explanations.Vraux executives were attempting to distance themselves from Zero Degree.Valcor's legal department was fighting to protect the company's reputation.Everyone wanted someone else to bl
The city lights outside Estella’s apartment blurred behind the thin layer of rain sliding down the glass window.She stood there silently for a long time.Too long.The anonymous photo still glowed faintly from her phone screen on the coffee table behind her.A younger version of Aizen.Charles Noi
Estella closed the folder slowly.Too slowly.As if sudden movements would make the truth inside it explode.Her fingers lingered on the edge of the paper for a second before she slid the file back into the compartment beneath the passenger seat exactly where she had found it.Her heartbeat was une
The room stayed silent long after the video ended.Only the faint humming sound from Lionel’s old laptop filled the darkness.Estella stared at the black screen without blinking. Her chest felt tight, but strangely… not shattered.Not like before.Because for the first time in years, she saw someth
Morning sunlight slipped through the lace curtains in thin golden lines, warm and quiet against the old wooden floor.For the first time in weeks, Estella woke up without the sound of her own heartbeat dragging her out of sleep.No nightmare.No gunshots.No screaming voices calling her the daughte







