No one spoke for several seconds after Elena finished.
The tablet screen still showed the numbers.
Huge transfers.
Funds moving through layered accounts like water through steel pipes.
Alex stared at them.
"Well," he said quietly.
Adrian stood beside the window, hands relaxed behind his back.
Elena waited for a response.
Alex rubbed his jaw.
"That's… bold."
Elena nodded.
"Yes."
Alex leaned closer to the tablet.
"So he's gathering capital."
"Yes."
"And that capital is aimed directly at your company."
"Yes."
Alex looked up at Adrian.
"You don't seem surprised."
Adrian's voice stayed calm.
"I'm not."
Alex blinked.
"You're not."
"No."
Alex leaned back slowly.
"Well."
"That's comforting."
Elena crossed her arms.
"This isn't speculation."
She tapped the screen again.
"These accounts are connected to the investors who backed the port expansion."
Alex frowned.
"The same ones from lunch."
"Yes."
Alex nodded slowly.
"Of course."
Adrian said nothing.
Alex looked at him.
"You knew Victor would do this."
"Yes."
Alex sighed.
"You really are exhausting."
Adrian didn't respond.
Elena spoke again.
"The purchase won't be direct."
Alex raised an eyebrow.
"That would be too simple."
Elena nodded.
"He's buying influence first."
Alex studied the screen again.
"Shareholders."
"Yes."
"Board seats."
"Yes."
Alex rubbed his face.
"That's very annoying."
Adrian turned slightly away from the window.
"How long?"
Elena answered immediately.
"Two weeks."
Alex blinked.
"Two weeks to buy a billion-dollar company."
"Yes."
Alex whistled softly.
"That's efficient."
Adrian's voice remained calm.
"It's desperate."
Alex nodded slowly.
"That too."
Elena closed the tablet.
"He's betting you won't react fast enough."
Alex laughed quietly.
"That's adorable."
Adrian looked at him.
"You think this is easy."
Alex shook his head.
"No."
He leaned against the counter.
"I think it's obvious."
Adrian waited.
Alex continued.
"Victor lost the narrative war."
Elena frowned slightly.
"What do you mean?"
Alex gestured toward the screen.
"He can't win through history anymore."
Adrian watched him carefully.
Alex finished the thought.
"So now he's trying to win through ownership."
Elena nodded.
"That's accurate."
Alex smiled faintly.
"That's also predictable."
Adrian asked quietly,
"What would you do?"
Alex blinked.
"You're asking again."
"Yes."
Alex sighed.
"You really need better hobbies."
Adrian didn't respond.
Alex looked toward the window.
The city stretched endlessly below them.
Glass towers.
Moving traffic.
The illusion of control.
Then he turned back.
"If someone tries to buy your company…"
He shrugged.
"…you make it too expensive."
Elena frowned.
"It already is."
Alex shook his head.
"No."
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
"No?"
Alex smiled slightly.
"You make it politically expensive."
The room went quiet.
Elena studied him.
"Explain."
Alex walked toward the table.
"Victor's entire strategy depends on quiet investors."
He tapped the tablet lightly.
"These people want profit."
Elena nodded.
"Yes."
"They don't want scandal."
"No."
Alex leaned forward slightly.
"So give them scandal."
Adrian's expression sharpened.
"How?"
Alex gestured toward the folder still resting on the table.
"The documents."
Elena understood immediately.
"You want to leak them."
Alex shook his head.
"No."
Adrian watched him carefully.
Alex smiled faintly.
"You don't leak them."
Elena frowned.
"Then what?"
Alex leaned back.
"You let investors discover them."
The room fell silent.
Adrian's eyes moved slightly.
"Interesting."
Elena folded her arms.
"That creates panic."
Alex nodded.
"Exactly."
Elena thought about it.
"That destabilizes Victor's financing."
Alex smiled.
"Now you're getting it."
Adrian studied him quietly.
"You're suggesting psychological warfare."
Alex shrugged.
"I'm suggesting truth with good timing."
Elena nodded slowly.
"That could work."
Alex crossed his arms.
"Of course it could."
Adrian turned toward the window again.
"You enjoy this."
Alex blinked.
"What?"
Adrian's voice remained calm.
"The game."
Alex laughed softly.
"Oh no."
Adrian glanced at him.
"No?"
"No."
Alex leaned against the counter again.
"I enjoy surviving."
Adrian didn't respond.
Alex continued.
"And right now survival means beating Victor."
Elena checked her tablet again.
"There's one more complication."
Alex sighed.
"Of course there is."
Elena turned the screen toward them.
A list of names appeared.
Alex frowned.
"Those are board members."
"Yes."
Alex read through them carefully.
Then he stopped.
"Well."
Adrian looked at him.
"What?"
Alex tapped one name on the screen.
"This one."
Elena nodded.
"Richard Halpern."
Alex exhaled slowly.
"That's bad."
Adrian asked calmly,
"Why?"
Alex looked at him.
"He funded my first company."
The room went still.
Elena frowned.
"You never mentioned that."
Alex shrugged.
"It didn't seem relevant."
Adrian studied him carefully.
"Does he support Victor?"
Alex nodded once.
"Yes."
Elena closed the tablet slowly.
"That complicates things."
Alex leaned back.
"That's one way to say it."
Adrian asked quietly,
"Can he influence the board?"
Alex nodded again.
"Yes."
Elena's voice remained calm.
"How loyal is he to Victor?"
Alex smiled faintly.
"He's loyal to money."
Adrian's expression didn't change.
"That's useful."
Alex nodded.
"Yes."
A long pause followed.
Then Adrian asked,
"Can you talk to him?"
Alex blinked.
"Me?"
"Yes."
Alex laughed quietly.
"You're serious."
"Yes."
Alex rubbed his neck.
"That man thinks I'm a failed startup founder who disappeared."
Adrian said nothing.
Alex continued.
"And now I walk in and explain I'm married to his biggest rival."
Elena almost smiled.
"That would be memorable."
Alex shook his head slowly.
"You're both insane."
Adrian waited.
Alex sighed.
"Fine."
Elena looked at him.
"You'll do it."
Alex nodded.
"Yes."
Adrian asked,
"Why?"
Alex smiled faintly.
"Because Victor already escalated."
He gestured toward the tablet.
"So now we escalate smarter."
Elena closed the tablet again.
"I'll arrange the meeting."
Alex raised an eyebrow.
"That fast?"
"Yes."
Alex laughed softly.
"I love rich people."
Adrian watched him carefully.
"You're calm."
Alex shrugged.
"I grew up with debt collectors."
Adrian waited.
Alex finished the thought.
"Billionaires don't scare me."
Adrian almost smiled again.
Alex saw it.
"There."
"What?"
"That face."
Adrian looked away.
"No."
"Yes."
Alex shook his head.
"You really are terrible at hiding things."
The room fell quiet again.
Outside, the city continued moving.
Inside, the war had changed shape once more.
Victor was buying power.
Adrian was waiting.
And Alex Carter had just stepped directly into the battlefield.
He walked toward the window and looked down at the streets far below.
"You know what the funny part is?"
Adrian asked,
"What?"
Alex smiled faintly.
"Victor thinks he's buying control."
Adrian waited.
Alex looked back at him.
"But control is the one thing nobody ever actually owns."