It was past midnight when Anita returned to the hidden suite beneath the GNV tower.
Few knew it existed.
Even fewer knew it had once been Marcus's private war room—a space for his secrets, now turned into hers.
She keyed in the encrypted code. The lights flickered on to reveal a sleek command desk, lined with monitors tracking global subsidiaries, financial chatter, internal comms, and… the board.
Everything was ready.
Elena had delivered a crucial piece—internal memos showing Marcus had authorized several shadow payouts during his tenure. Not illegal on the surface. But tied to a series of partnerships now under audit? Damning.
And worse for Marcus: it implicated people he could no longer protect.
Anita uploaded the data packet to three secure locations. One for the federal regulators. One for the board's ethics committee. And one for a private digital vault, time-released.
A safety net.
She couldn't afford to die again.
Elsewhere in the tower, Julian sat in his office, unaware of the code Anita had just pulled.
He sensed something was coming. Her tone had shifted in recent days. Sharper. Focused like a blade before it strikes.
He wondered if she knew how closely he watched her now.
How much he wanted to stand beside her—not just in battle, but in whatever came after.
But that wasn't his choice to make.
Not yet.
By morning, a series of anonymous tips hit three regulatory agencies simultaneously.
The language was clinical, clean, and devastating.
And it all led back to Marcus.
But there was no visible trail to Anita.
Just as she had planned.
In her office, she stood before the mirror, adjusting the pin on her lapel. A phoenix—small, silver, gleaming.
The signal had been sent.
Phase three was active.
One more push, and Marcus would have nothing left but the wreckage he made—and the woman who rose from it.