Vin A. (vin-anthon)

CHAPTER 1 Tech and Tension Everyone on campus knew Adrian Base. Not because he tried to be known, but because his name moved faster than he did. Founder before graduation. Investor before twenty-five. The kind of rich that didn’t announce itself, just arrived and made space without asking. When Adrian walked into the innovation hall that evening, conversations lowered instinctively. People straightened. Smiles sharpened. This was his world: ideas with funding, ambition with backing, success already halfway guaranteed. He took a seat in the second row, posture relaxed, expression unreadable. He wasn’t here to be impressed. He rarely was.

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CHAPTER 13 The Waiting Game. The headquarters felt unusually quiet that morning. Too quiet. Maya hunched over her laptop, staring at the mirrored codes Dennis had helped her set up in the early stages. Something felt off, but good off. Her stomach churned as she realized what it was. “They’re noticing something,” she whispered. “The Architects… they can’t touch the code. It’s like… like there’s a piece missing from the beginning. Something they never saw.” Adrian, pacing near the door, stopped mid-step. “Show me.” Maya pointed to the carefully split and hidden mirrored fragments. “This. Denise helped me do this from the start. They… they’re trying to hijack it like before, but it’s not working. They can’t control it. They can’t break in.” Denise leaned over, frowning at her laptop. “It’s nearly impossible,” she said slowly. “Once a mirror is created at the earliest stage, before the code goes public, tracking it… hijacking it… almost impossible."

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CHAPTER 7 The First Countermove. They didn’t leave through the front entrance. Adrian guided Maya through a side corridor she’d never noticed before, past security doors that opened with a single tap of his card. The campus she thought she knew peeled away layer by layer, revealing something colder underneath. “How many people know about this?” Maya asked as they walked briskly. “Too many,” Adrian replied. “And none of them should.” They reached an underground parking level where a black car waited, engine already running. Maya hesitated for half a second before getting in. This was real now. As the car pulled away from campus, Adrian spoke without looking at her. “They’ll move fast,” he said. “First, they discredit you. Then they isolate you. By the time you realize what’s happening, you’re alone and apologizing for an idea you built.” “I won’t apologize,” Maya said. “I know,” Adrian replied. “That’s why they’re nervous.”

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CHAPTER 14 Tending Wounds. The basement was quiet now, but the air still hummed with adrenaline. Maya set the flash drive down gently, her fingers lingering on it before she turned toward Adrian. He was sitting by the edge of the bed, arm wrapped with the torn piece of his shirt, bruises dark along his chest and arms. The piece of clothes had slowed the bleeding, but the sight of it made her stomach knot. “You need proper care,” she said softly, pulling the first aid kit out of the drawer beside the bed. Adrian shook his head lightly. “I’m fine. Just...” He paused, exhaling through his nose, “...help me clean this.” Maya knelt in front of him, her hands careful, precise. She wiped away the sweat and blood with antiseptic wipes, her fingers brushing against bruised skin, sticky and tender. His eyes stayed locked on hers, a soft intensity that made her chest flutter.

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