KESTER
It felt like death was licking at my heels.
The sky outside had been brooding all day clouds thick and grey. Fitting perfectly with my mood. Almost like the universe knew it, too, that this wasn’t a celebration. This was like me attending my own funeral.
My room was quiet and tense. The kind of silence you feel in your gut.
Norlan was seated at the edge of the couch, his palms pressed together and his eyes distant. He looked like he’d just walked out of a car crash. And truth? I didn’t look or feel any better.
I stood in front of the mirror, fixing my tie with fingers that wouldn’t fucking stop shaking. Each tug felt like it was tightening a noose around my own neck.
Fuck
I’d never been this nervous in my life. Not even when I was wrongly diagnosed and taken to the psychiatric ward years ago. Not when I gave my first speech in front of the board. Not even when I kissed Kasmine for the first time.
This was different.
This wasn’t nerves. This was my body revolting. My heart knew this wasn’t right. Every cell in my blood was screaming her name.
Kasmine.
The anger and sadness radiating off of me could burn downan entire city. But of course, this was also a step closer to being with the woman I love.
1 gritted my teeth and forced my fingers to move. “You aren’t the one getting engaged to the wrong woman, Norlan Quit being sadder than me,” I muttered.
Norlan was barely keeping himself together. He looked like a man who had lost his purpose in life. And I knew why.
He wishes to be the one in my place at this moment. Dude is head over heels for my ‘fiancé.”
“What are you talking about, dickhead? Come on. We have just about an hour before the event starts,” He stood up, straightened his jacket, and forced a grin that didn’t touch his eyes. “You look perfect tonight.”
I stared at him through the mirror. Neither of us looked perfect. We just looked like two men pretending they weren’t breaking inside.
wany sides.
I turned slowly. My fingers dropped from the tie, hanging up by my “Did you get it?” I asked quietly.
Norlan didn’t answer immediately. He glanced toward the door like he was making sure we were still alone. Then le reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a sleek, matte–black flash drive.
He held it up between two fingers. “Encrypted. Triple–layered. You’d need a god to crack it… or me.”
I walked up to m, took it without a word, but didn’t look at it yet. I stared at him instead… The man who used to hack into our school’s database just to change his grades and prank professors. I used to think it was all fun back then. But I never knew he’d take it so seriously that he’d take it to be a career.
“You sure it’s solid?” I asked in a low voice.
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Norlan nodded slowly. “It’s everything. Offshore accounts. Tax evasion. Proxy companies tied to human smuggling rings in the Balkans. He thought he could scrub it clean. But that dumb fuck hired some of my old crew two years ago. I know their coding like the back of my hand.
A grin pulled at the corner of his lips. It was cold. Nothing like the forced smile he’d worn a few minutes ago. He was in his full work mode now.
“He didn’t even encrypt his backups properly. I found a dead server in Romania that still had partial logs of every financial transaction since 2020. And get this,” he leaned closer, “one of the shell companies is laundering money through a fertility charity in Lisbon.”
I felt my chest tighten.
That was Jaden. Perfectly polished on the outside. Rotting, bleeding filth underneath.
I finally looked at the flash drive. Tiny. Harmless–looking. And yet, it could burn his entire empire to the ground.
“Who else knows?” I asked.
“No one. Not even the crew. I pulled it myself. Scrambled the IP routes and bounced them across five countries. Burned the trail after every access.”
“Good,”
Because if Jaden even smelled what we were doing, he’d come for Norlan first.
He must’ve sensed what I was thinking because he laughed softly and shook his head. “You don’t have to look at me like that, man. I know the risk. I’ve danced with devils worse than Jaden. And lived.”
He walked to the table, poured himself a shot of whiskey, and downed it in one go.
“But I gotta admit,” he continued in a quieter voice, “it’s different when you’re not doing it for money. When you’re doing it for someone who actually fucking matters.”
I looked at him.
Underneath the tech genius was a man willing to burn down an empire just to help me save the woman I love.. Norlan wasn’t just a hacker. He was my weapon.
And tonight, while the cameras would flash and the guests would toast and the world would believe I was celebrating. I’d be plotting the destruction of a man too arrogant to see the fire rising around him. A man who started a war years ago and was foolish enough to think he’d won by attempting to claim a woman that was never his in the first place.
“You’re a fucking psychopath,” I muttered, smirking as I tucked the drive into muy coat pocket.
Norlan shrugged. “Takes one to love one.”
I reached for the glass of whiskey he’d abandoned and took a sip, letting the burn center me. Then I glanced at him again.
“Thank you,” I said.
Norlan looked at me like I’d just spoken in another language. “For what?”
1 lifted the glass. “For making, Elvris look real.”
Norlan chuckled like he couldn’t believe I was just bringing ever built. I’m not surprised he bought it,” he muttered.
it up now. “Man, that might be the slickest ghost I’ve
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I smirked. “He didn’t just buy it. He begged for it. After Alfred fed him that crap about my assets being frozen, he went straight into panic mode. Suddenly, I wasn’t a rival anymore–I was a dying man clinging to my last venture. He saw Elvis as my last gasp and wanted it more because of that.”
Norlan chuckled darkly. “He practically sold his soul to get in on the next big thing‘ before you could recover. Classic Kex.”
“He thinks he won.”
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “The real Elvris operates like a damn myth–clean trails, direct–to–client encryption, no public–facing platforms. Even their NDAs are signed using retina scans. Nobody ever sees the real product unless they’re on the inside. So all I had to do was mimic their silence… and feed Kex just enough noise.”
1 chuckled. “Of course.”
“Leaked blueprints. Faked voice calls from the ‘founder.‘ Staged email threads between fake developers. A few made–up patents just obscure enough to sound real. I even planted a bogus investor profile in a private venture capital server. Kex found it by ‘accident.” He made air quotes with his fingers, grinning. “Man thought he struck
oil.”
We both laughed at the joke called Kex.
“And the team you had Alfred brief? Perfect actors. They even threw in the ‘proprietary Al scaffolding” lingo. Got Kex drooling “I added.
I set the glass down slowly, absorbing the magnitude of what we were doing
“I swear, if you ever go dark on me, I’m fucked.”
“No,” Norlan said with a smile. “If I go dark, they’re fucked You? You’re the only one I’d burn the world for.”
The lights hit like judgment.
Every inch of the venue screamed excess. Massive chandeliers dripping with crystal, casting fractured halos over a crowd of monsters in tailored suits and million–dollar smiles, Gold–trimmed railings spiraled along a grand staircase that led to a stage dressed for royalty, not a goddamn engagement.
Alpha after Alpha, lounging in arrogance like they owned the floor beneath their feet. And maybe they did. Titans of industry. Blood–soaked politicians. Old money, new money, the type of men who’d kill for legacy and gall it
honor.
I saw my parents standing and chatting with Alpha Mellors and Luna Shannon at the other corner of the hall, with wide grins on their faces.
Jorja was laughing, head tilted back just a little too far like she was auditioning for the role of “blissfully unaware matriarch” My father had that proud, polished look he wore like a fucking suit of armor.
June stood near the champagne fountain with a cluster of high–class ladies–wives of alphas, heiresses, political daughters. Gossiping, I guess.
But… Where the hell was Kasmine?
My heart pave a hard thump against my ribs.
I scanned the ball again, slower this time, but she was nowhere to be found.
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Chapter 129
I smirked. “He didn’t just buy it. He begged for it. After Alfred fed him that crap about my assets being frozen, he went straight into panic mode. Suddenly, I wasn’t a rival anymore–I was a dying man clinging to my last venture. He saw Elvis as my last gasp and wanted it more because of that.”
Norlan chuckled darkly. “He practically sold his soul to get on the ‘next big thing‘ before you could recover.
Classic Kex.”
“He thinks he won.”
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “The real Elvris operates like a damn myth–clean trails, direct–to–client encryption, no public–facing platforms. Even their NDAs are signed using retina scans. Nobody ever sees the real product unless they’re on the inside. So all I had to do was mimic their silence… and feed Kex just enough noise.”
I chuckled. “Of course.”
“Leaked blueprints. Faked voice calls from the ‘founder.” Staged email threads between fake developers. A few made–up patents just obscure enough to sound real. I even planted a bogus investor profile in a private venture capital server. Kex found it by ‘accident.“” He made air quotes with his fingers, grinning “Man thought he struck oil.
We both laughed at the joke called Kex.
“And the team you had Alfred brief? Perfect actors. They even threw in the ‘proprietary Al scaffolding‘ lingo, Got Kex drooling.” I added.
I set the glass down slowly, absorbing the inagnitude of what we were doing
“I swear, if you ever go dark on me, I’m fucked.”
“No,” Norlan said with a smile. “If I go dark, they’re fucked. You? You’re the only one I’d burn the world for.”
The lights hit like judgment.
Every inch of the venue screamed excess. Massive chandeliers dripping with crystal, casting fractured halos over a crowd of monsters in tailored suits and million–dollar smiles. Gold–trimmed railings spiraled along a grand staircase that led to a stage dressed for royalty, not a goddamn engagement.
Alpha after Alpha, lounging in arrogance like they owned the floor beneath their feet. And maybe they did. Titans of industry. Blood–soaked politicians. Old money, new money, the type of men who’d kill for legacy and rall it honor.
I saw my parents standing and chatting with Alpha Mellors and Luna Shannon at the other corner of the hall, with wide grins on their faces.
Jorja was laughing, head tilted back just a little too far like she was auditioning for the role of “blissfully unaware. matriarch.” My father had that proud, polished look he wore like a fucking suit of armor.
June stood near the champagne fountain with a cluster of high–class ladies–wives of alphas, heiresses, political daughters Gossiping, I guess.
But… Where the hell was Kasmine?
My heart gave a hard thump against my ribs,
I scanned the ball again, slower this time, but she was nowhere to be found.
Chapter
Fuck
Cold panic slowly began to creep in.
Did she decide not to be in attendance today? I could use her presence for mental support.
I pulled out my phone and navigated through the tracking app.
Please… just be at home. Just be late.
The map loaded, and I found out she was at Medix Hospital,
What the fuck was she doing there?
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Chapter
