Chapter 101: The Aftermath

The silence in my office felt louder than any explosion. I sat at the edge of my desk, my hands resting against the cool surface, but my thoughts were anything but calm. Every decision I’d made was now locked in place, irreversible. There was no clean way out of this. I knew that when I made the choice.

But knowing didn’t make it any easier.

The leather chair behind me groaned as I leaned back, closing my eyes for just a moment. Every step I had taken—from confronting Nathan to seizing control of the conspiracy—had brought me to this point. I should have felt triumphant. Instead, all I felt was the crushing weight of what lay ahead.

I could still hear Nathan’s parting words echoing in my mind: “Power never comes without a price.”

And the first bill had already arrived.

I opened my laptop, pulling up the encrypted files Nathan had transferred just before I took over the network. The reports confirmed what I feared: Collateral damage, Employees were dismissed without warning. Departme