The next few hours were a blur of focused, clandestine activity. Kaelen, operating with the lethal efficiency of a true Blackwood, moved through the digital world like a phantom. She established a shell corporation based in a neutral territory with labyrinthine privacy laws, giving it a bland, forgettable name: "Phoenix Holdings." She then funneled a substantial amount of her personal, off the books funds into its accounts, creating a clean, untraceable predator.
Across from her, Sera fed her information. She detailed the layout of "The Azure Club," the illicit, high stakes establishment her uncle frequented. She listed Alban's preferred drinks, his tells when he was bluffing, and his desperate need for public validation. Together, they were building a psychological profile so complete it felt like a blueprint for a man's soul.
"Before we build the final offer for Alban, I need a complete picture of the board and all minority stakeholders," Kaelen murmured, her eyes scanning lines of code. "The last thing we need is a surprise shareholder with enough power to block us."
She ran a deep level analysis, a program that clawed through layers of holding companies and private trusts. Most of what appeared was expected: institutional investors with negligible shares, the Vesper family trust controlled by Alban, and a smattering of loyalists from Sera's father's era. But then, the program flagged a single, significant entity. A holding company that had been quietly, patiently accumulating shares over the last eighteen months, just after the fire. It now held 10% of Vesper Pharmaceuticals.
"Who is 'Aegis Capital'?" Sera asked, leaning closer to read the screen.
"Nobody," Kaelen said, her fingers flying across the keyboard. "It's a ghost. Which means it's a front for someone who doesn't want to be seen." A cold knot of dread tightened in her stomach. Her software began peeling back the layers, tracing the digital breadcrumbs from Aegis Capital through a half dozen shell companies until it hit a firewall of immense sophistication. A firewall Kaelen recognized.
Ironwood Security.
With a final command, she breached it. The ultimate owner of the 10% stake was revealed.
Valeria Ironwood.
Kaelen's blood ran cold. The heroine. The rival. She wasn't just a potential love interest for Sera in the future; she was already here, on the battlefield, making moves Kaelen hadn't even anticipated.
[System Alert: [Rival Character: Valeria Ironwood] is now an active participant in Questline [The Usurper's Gambit]. Plot convergence detected. Probability of conflict: 95%.]
"Valeria," Sera breathed, a complex mix of surprise and something else… hope? "Her company's brand is built on ethics. Maybe… maybe she was trying to protect it?"
"Or maybe she was waiting for the price to hit rock bottom so she could buy the rest for pennies and absorb Vesper's patents into her own portfolio," Kaelen countered, her voice sharper than she intended. The old, bitter jealousy from the novel flared hot in her chest. She couldn't trust Valeria's motives. The heroine was always perfect, always righteous, and Kaelen was the villainess. Their roles were pre defined.
She turned to Sera, her expression grim. "This changes everything. We're not the only players on the board anymore. If Alban gets so much as a whisper of another interested party, his price will skyrocket. He'll start a bidding war."
Sera's glimmer of hope faded, replaced by the cold, hard reality of the situation. They were no longer operating in the shadows. They were in a race against a powerful, respected, and extremely competent rival.
Kaelen looked at the smiling, professional headshot of Valeria Ironwood on the screen. The perfect Alpha, moving to claim her prize. A prize Kaelen was now determined to steal right out from under her.
"Our timeline just moved up," Kaelen declared, her voice a low, dangerous hum. "We're no longer planning a siege. This is a surgical strike." She looked at Sera, her frost grey eyes blazing.
"We move on your uncle. Now."