Adrian Wolfe didn't panic.
He countered.
By morning, Blackcrest filed in three jurisdictions simultaneously.
Harvey slammed a folder onto the table. "They're trying to drown us."
Ace didn't flinch.
"No," he said. "They're trying to force a mistake."
Louis rubbed his temples. "We can't be everywhere."
Ace nodded. "Correct. So we'll be where it matters."
He turned to Katrina Bennett, who had been silently reviewing documents.
"Your assessment?"
Katrina looked up. "Their offshore compliance is fake. But proving it requires insider leverage."
Ace nodded. "Mike?"
Mike leaned forward. "Their timing's wrong. Someone rushed the filings."
Ace's smile sharpened.
"Fear accelerates error," he said.
Fight #201Opponent: Time pressureStatus: Weaponized
Ace made the call himself.
Adrian Wolfe answered on the second ring.
"You're persistent," Wolfe said coolly.
"You're inefficient," Ace replied.
Wolfe chuckled. "You think you can threaten me?"
Ace's voice didn't rise.
"No," he said. "I think I can bankrupt you."
Silence stretched.
"You move against me," Wolfe said slowly, "and you'll regret it."
Ace replied instantly.
"I already calculated the regret," he said. "It's survivable. For me."
The line went dead.
Fight #213Opponent: Adrian WolfeStatus: Engaged
The breakthrough came at 2:14 a.m.
Louis burst into Ace's office, tie loosened, eyes wide.
"We found it," Louis said. "The siphon. They hid it in a pension fund."
Ace stood immediately.
"Good," he said. "File emergency discovery."
Louis hesitated. "They'll fight it."
Ace nodded. "Let them."
Fight #224Opponent: Hidden liabilityStatus: Exposed
Court convened by sunrise.
The judge looked irritated.
Ace looked prepared.
Harvey argued like a blade—sharp, precise, relentless.
Mike dismantled counterarguments before they finished forming.
Katrina executed with surgical calm.
And Ace?
Ace ended it.
"This isn't a misunderstanding," Ace said evenly. "It's a pattern. And patterns don't lie."
He submitted the final document.
The judge leaned back slowly.
"I'm granting discovery," she said. "Immediately."
Across the room, Blackcrest's counsel went pale.
Fight #241Result: Strategic victory
By noon, the market reacted.
Blackcrest stock dipped.
Then slid.
Then collapsed.
Adrian Wolfe watched billions evaporate in real time.
He whispered one word.
"Charles."
That evening, Ace stood on a quiet balcony overlooking the city.
Evelyn Vale joined him, elegant, composed, unafraid.
"So," she said lightly, "did you win?"
Ace considered the skyline.
"No," he said. "I positioned."
She smiled. "That's worse for them, isn't it?"
"Yes."
She studied him. "You don't fight to survive."
Ace met her gaze.
"I fight to end things." Opponent: The futureStatus: Advancing