“Proceed with everything.”

Her reply came at once: “Already in motion.”

Phase Two — The Morning After

By 8:00 a.m. the city was running as usual, unaware that one of America’s most powerful executives was about to lose everything.

Julian woke in the hotel penthouse with a pounding headache. Camila was curled beside him, smiling in her sleep. He reached for his phone — and froze.

184 missed calls. 293 text messages. The board group chat detonating without pause.

When he saw the photo, the color drained from his face. For ten seconds he couldn’t breathe. Then he shot upright.