The number still hovered in the air like a guillotine blade.
Ethan cracked first. His avatar jolted forward, eyes wild, voice rising into a shriek. "This is rigged! You think I can pay five hundred billion?! That's not even possible—no one could!" His fists slammed on the virtual desk, but the impact only echoed hollow through the system.
One of his teammates snarled back, his composure breaking. "This is your fault, Ethan! You dragged us into this mess—said it was clean, said nobody would trace it!"
Another spat, "We should've jumped ship when you told us to trust you. Now look at us—debts we can't crawl out of, futures torched."
The avatars glitched under the strain of their shouting, their voices layering like broken speakers. Ethan kept pacing in circles, clawing at his hair, screaming about conspiracies and betrayal. His team fractured around him, the cracks spilling into open chaos.
