Chapter 15: The Offer You Can't Refuse
The success at Precision Components was a quiet earthquake. Seven hundred and fifty dollars, earned in a single day of intense, fulfilling work, felt more real than any future stock tip. It was proof of concept. *Digital Bridge* had its first major corporate client, even if it was just a name in his mind and a stack of cash in his drawer.
Carl Croft became his unofficial, and fiercely loyal, business manager. The gruff IT director saw in Elias not just a prodigy, but a golden goose. He started filtering more complex, higher-paying jobs his way—a law firm's failing server, a dentist's office transitioning to digital records. The work was steady, legitimate, and built a reputation far more valuable than the money.
Elias, however, was already thinking two steps ahead. The cash was piling up, but it was inert. It needed to be put to work. The *Mythic Quest* cards were his silent, long-term bet. This new capital was for something more immediate, more scalable. He spent his evenings not on homework, but on studying the nascent, wildly volatile stock listings from his memory. He was looking for the perfect entry point.
This new, relentless focus did not go unnoticed by Eleanor. She watched him with a mixture of pride and concern, recognizing the driven man emerging fully from the boy's shell. Their study sessions were now often conducted in comfortable silence, him with his financial charts, her with her architecture textbooks. They were two ambitious souls, building their futures side-by-side.
It was during one of these sessions in the library that the shadow fell over them again. But this time, it wasn't Jason.
It was his father, Robert Miller.
He was a taller, older, more polished version of his son, dressed in a suit that cost more than Elias's car. He didn't look angry; he looked calculating. He carried the easy, intimidating authority of a man accustomed to getting what he wanted.
"Eli Thorne," he said, his voice a smooth, neutral baritone. "I'm Robert Miller. A word, if you don't mind."
Eleanor's hand instinctively found Elias's under the table. Her grip was tight.
Elias looked up, his expression carefully blank. "Mr. Miller. We're studying."
"It will only take a moment." The smile didn't reach his eyes. "In private."
Elias gave Eleanor's hand a reassuring squeeze and stood, following Robert Miller to a quiet corner of the library stacks. The smell of old books felt suddenly suffocating.
"I'll get straight to the point," Miller began, his gaze sweeping over Elias with cold appraisal. "You've been causing some... disruptions for my son."
Elias said nothing. He just waited.
"My wife and I are concerned. Jason's college applications are at a critical stage. This kind of... drama... is unhelpful." He paused, letting the implied threat hang in the air. "I understand you're a young man of considerable talent. Ambitious, even."
He reached into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out a business card, holding it out between two fingers. It was for a prestigious local venture capital firm.
"I have friends there. They have an internship program for promising young talent. It's a foot in the door to a very lucrative world. It could be yours." He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping. "In exchange, you simply agree to keep your distance from my son. No more... incidents. You focus on your future, we'll focus on Jason's. It's a win-win."
It was a masterful move. A classic Robert Miller play, Elias knew from his past life. Offer a bribe so attractive it feels like an opportunity. Isolate the threat by bringing it into the fold. He wasn't threatening Elias; he was trying to purchase him.
Elias looked at the card, then back at Robert Miller's face. He saw the absolute certainty there—the belief that everyone had a price, that ambition could always be co-opted.
He thought of the seven hundred and fifty dollars in his drawer, earned with his own skill. He thought of Eleanor's hand gripping his under the table. He thought of the king he had been, and the man he was trying to become.
He didn't take the card.
"My future is already spoken for, Mr. Miller," Elias said, his voice quiet but iron-clad. "And it doesn't involve being a well-paid lackey for your family."
Robert Miller's polished smile didn't falter, but his eyes turned to chips of flint. The air between them grew cold. "That's a very foolish decision, son. Ambitious men without powerful friends make for very short stories."
"I guess we'll see how my story ends," Elias replied. He turned and walked back to the table, leaving Robert Miller standing alone among the books, the unaccepted business card still in his hand.
When he sat down, Eleanor was pale. "What did he want?"
"He tried to buy me," Elias said, the absurdity of it almost making him laugh. "To stay away from Jason."
Her eyes widened in horror. "What did you say?"
"I told him no."
The look she gave him then was worth more than any internship, any venture capital connection. It was a look of pure, unadulterated admiration. He had faced the dragon in its lair and refused its gold.
But as they packed their books, a cold dread settled in his stomach. He had just escalated the conflict to a whole new level. It was no longer a feud with a teenage rival. It was a war with his father. And Robert Miller didn't fight with shoves in the hallway or stolen credit. He fought with lawyers, with financial pressure, with the quiet, crushing weight of the establishment.
The king had defended his throne, but he had just earned the undying enmity of an emperor. The foundation was strong, but the ground beneath it was now being surveyed by a much more powerful and dangerous enemy.