Collapse didn't happen all at once.
It happened in layers.
Ace Charles stood at the head of the war room as the screens refreshed in real time. Numbers bled red. News feeds scrolled nonstop. Analysts spoke in panicked tones.
Blackcrest Consortium was unraveling.
Louis Litt clutched a coffee he hadn't touched.
"They're hemorrhaging," Louis said. "Banks are pulling credit. Three governments just opened investigations."
Harvey leaned back, impressed despite himself. "That's not damage control. That's free fall."
Ace nodded once. "They crossed the point of recovery."
Fight #267Opponent: Corporate inertiaStatus: Broken
Mike Ross scanned a document, eyes sharp. "They're trying to settle quietly."
Ace turned. "They can't afford quiet."
Katrina looked up from her tablet. "Their silence clause won't survive discovery."
Ace's golden eyes gleamed faintly.
"Good," he said. "We want daylight."
Across the city, Adrian Wolfe stared at his screens.
Every contingency had failed.
Shell companies exposed.Political allies distancing themselves.Board members resigning.
"Get me Charles," Wolfe snapped.
The call went unanswered.
Wolfe slammed his fist onto the desk.
For the first time in decades, he felt it.
Fear.
At 11:43 a.m., the filing hit.
Ace submitted the motion himself.
EXPANDED DISCOVERY — FULL TRANSPARENCY
The courtroom erupted in murmurs.
Blackcrest's counsel stood, voice tight. "This is excessive."
Ace didn't look at him.
"No," he said calmly. "This is proportional."
The judge read the filings carefully.
Then nodded.
"Granted."
The gavel struck.
Fight #281Result: Exposure authorized
By afternoon, the press arrived.
Cameras. Microphones. Questions fired like bullets.
Ace walked past them without slowing.
"What do you say to allegations of economic sabotage?" a reporter shouted.
Ace stopped.
He turned calmly.
"Truth isn't sabotage," he said. "It's gravity."
He walked on.
That quote went viral within minutes.
Inside the firm, the mood was electric.
Associates whispered Ace's name like a myth.
Louis approached him quietly.
"You didn't just win," Louis said. "You rewrote the rules."
Ace met his gaze. "Rules exist to be tested."
Louis nodded slowly.
Opponent: Institutional disbeliefStatus: Eliminated
That night, Ace finally answered Adrian Wolfe's call.
"You've made your point," Wolfe said, voice strained. "We can end this."
Ace leaned against the window, city glowing below.
"You had chances," Ace replied.
Wolfe swallowed. "Name your price."
Ace was silent for a moment.
Then—
"There is no price," he said. "Only consequence."
The line went dead.
Opponent: Adrian Wolfe's leverageStatus: Extinguished