Chapter 56 — Midnight Collapse
London was quiet.
The kind of deep silence that only appeared after two in the morning, when even the busiest cities finally slowed down. Outside the massive glass windows of the luxury hotel suite floor, the city lights shimmered faintly across the Thames.
Most of the group had fallen asleep hours ago.
The past weeks had been exhausting — conferences, meetings, the gala, constant networking with powerful people from around the world.
Tonight had finally been peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Inside her room, Care was asleep on the couch rather than the bed, a laptop still open on the table in front of her. Financial reports and emails were scattered across the screen — habits of someone who never truly stopped working.
The phone on the table suddenly vibrated.
Once.
Then again.
Then it started ringing.
Care frowned slightly in her sleep before opening her eyes.
The screen showed a name.
Alex.
At 2:03 AM.
Care immediately sat up.
Alex never called at this hour unless something was very wrong.
She picked up the phone.
"Alex?"
On the other end, Alex's voice sounded tense.
Not panicked.
But dangerously close.
"Care… something's wrong."
Care stood immediately.
"What happened?"
Before Alex could answer, another voice cut in.
Joong.
"Lucas Company shares are collapsing."
Care froze.
"What?"
Alex spoke again, faster this time.
"Someone just transferred 40 percent controlling shares out of the company accounts."
For a moment Care thought she misheard.
"That's impossible."
Joong's voice was sharp.
"It just happened. Ten minutes ago. The market is reacting."
Care grabbed the laptop and opened the stock tracker.
Her screen refreshed.
Numbers appeared.
Then dropped.
Then dropped again.
The graph of Lucas Company stock value was falling like a cliff.
Her eyes narrowed.
"How is that even possible?" Care said quietly.
Alex answered.
"That percentage… it belongs to Kevin."
The room suddenly felt colder.
Care's voice turned calm.
Too calm.
"You've tried calling him?"
"Thirty times," Joong said.
"No response."
Care's mind moved fast.
Faster than panic.
"Where is he?"
Alex hesitated.
"With Ash."
For a second Care said nothing.
Then Joong spoke again.
"They went on a date tonight, remember?"
Care closed her eyes briefly.
Yes.
The cliffside date.
Kevin had joked about it during dinner.
Her stomach twisted slightly.
"Have you contacted Ash?" Care asked.
Alex answered immediately.
"Her phone is off."
The silence that followed felt heavy.
Care looked back at the stock graph.
It had dropped again.
Millions.
No.
Billions.
If the market lost confidence now, the company could collapse within hours.
Care's voice turned sharp.
"Listen carefully."
Alex and Joong both went silent.
"You two stay calm. Don't make any public statements yet. We'll figure this out."
Joong spoke quietly.
"You think Kevin did this?"
Care didn't answer.
Because the truth was…
She didn't want to believe it either.
"I'm waking everyone," Care said.
"Stay on standby."
The call ended.
Care grabbed her jacket and stepped out into the hallway.
The hotel floor was dark and silent.
But that silence was about to break.
---
The large lounge hall reserved for the two groups was empty.
Care walked in quickly and switched on the lights.
Then she made the first call.
"Cole."
Three seconds later, Cole's voice answered groggily.
"…Care?"
"Come to the hall. Now."
Her tone immediately woke him.
"What happened?"
"Just come."
She hung up.
Next call.
"Nova."
Then Ben.
Then JJ.
Then Keifer.
Within five minutes, doors across the hallway were opening.
Footsteps.
Confused voices.
The first person to enter the hall was Cole.
His hair was messy, and he was still half-awake, but the moment he saw Care's face, his expression sharpened.
"What happened?"
Care turned the laptop toward him.
Cole looked at the screen.
Then his eyes widened.
"What the hell—"
More people entered.
Nova.
Ben.
JJ.
Keifer.
Percy and Honey arrived together.
Rakhi followed behind them with Freya and Endrix.
Aries and Ella walked in last.
Cin came rushing after them.
Within minutes the entire group standing in London had gathered.
Fourteen people.
Everyone looking confused.
Concerned.
Half-awake.
Care stood at the center of the room.
"Alex and Joong just called."
Everyone immediately went silent.
"Lucas Company stock is collapsing."
Shock spread across the room.
"What?"
"That's impossible."
Ben stepped forward quickly.
"How bad?"
Care turned the laptop toward them.
The graph answered the question.
Nova whispered softly.
"Oh my god…"
Percy rubbed his forehead.
"Someone is dumping shares."
Care nodded slowly.
"Yes."
JJ crossed her arms.
"How many?"
Care looked up.
"Forty percent controlling shares."
The entire room froze.
That number was devastating.
Only one person held that much.
Everyone realized it at the same time.
Kevin.
Honey shook her head immediately.
"No."
Percy said the same thing.
"No way."
Ben frowned deeply.
"Kevin wouldn't do that."
Cole leaned against the table, arms crossed.
"Where is he?"
Care answered.
"He's not answering his phone."
Silence fell again.
Then Freya asked the question everyone feared.
"And Ash?"
Care looked down briefly.
"Her phone is off."
Now the tension in the room became something else.
Fear.
JJ turned to Keifer.
"What's the situation in the market?"
Keifer pulled out his phone quickly, checking live financial feeds.
His eyes darkened.
"Bad."
"How bad?" Nova asked.
Keifer spoke bluntly.
"If this keeps going for two more hours, Lucas Company could lose investor confidence globally."
Joong and Alex were trying to stabilize the company from Sydney headquarters.
But they were thousands of kilometers away.
Care took a slow breath.
"Alex and Joong need to go to headquarters."
"They can't investigate remotely."
Ben nodded immediately.
"They need direct access to financial systems."
Care looked at Keifer.
"One problem."
Keifer raised an eyebrow.
"Our jets are grounded for maintenance."
Care nodded.
"My jet and Cole's jet are both under repair."
Without hesitation, Keifer spoke.
"I'll provide one."
Everyone turned to him.
"My private jet leaves in thirty minutes."
Care didn't waste a second.
"Good."
She grabbed her phone.
"Alex."
He answered instantly.
"Yes?"
"Prepare to leave."
"For where?"
"Sydney."
Joong's voice appeared in the background.
"Already packing."
Care almost smiled.
"Good."
She looked around the room.
"Lyra and Daisy will go with you."
Nova nodded immediately.
"Daisy will be useful with the medical systems."
JJ added calmly.
"Lyra understands company architecture."
Cole crossed his arms.
"And the rest of us?"
Care's eyes moved across the group.
Cole.
Nova.
Ben.
JJ.
Keifer.
Percy.
Honey.
Rakhi.
Freya.
Endrix.
Aries.
Ella.
Cin.
Fourteen people.
All powerful.
All capable.
"We stay here," Care said quietly.
"And find Kevin."
The words felt heavy.
Because none of them wanted to believe what they were thinking.
Percy spoke softly.
"There could be another explanation."
Honey nodded.
"Maybe someone hacked his account."
Endrix spoke immediately.
"I'm checking that possibility."
JJ looked at Care carefully.
"You really think Kevin would betray everyone?"
Care didn't answer.
Because the truth was simple.
She didn't want to believe it.
But something inside her mind kept whispering a dangerous possibility.
Kevin was brilliant.
Strategic.
Ambitious.
And ambition could turn people into strangers.
Care straightened.
"We don't accuse anyone yet."
"Not until we know the truth."
Everyone nodded.
Cole looked at the clock.
2:37 AM.
"The jet leaves in thirty minutes."
Care turned toward the door.
"Then we move now."
Chaos erupted immediately.
Phones.
Laptops.
Travel bags.
Instructions flying across the room.
The night that had been quiet only minutes ago was now filled with urgency.
The storm had started.
And somewhere out in the dark London night…
Kevin was still driving.
Ash unconscious beside him.
While an empire began collapsing behind them.