The Queen’s Return

​POV: Adrian Kade

​The collar of my shirt felt like it was shrinking, and I wiped the sweat from my forehead as I stepped off the stage of the Global Tech Summit while the polite, lukewarm applause of the investors echoed in the large hall. The demo had been a disaster, the system had lagged three times before finally freezing on the main screen, and I could see the disappointment on the faces of the men who used to call me a genius. It had been like this for four years, ever since the day Liora signed those papers and vanished into thin air, and no matter how many top-tier developers I hired or how much money I threw at the problem, I couldn't find the spark that used to make my code invincible.

​I walked toward the green room, and Elena was already there, pacing back and forth in a dress that cost more than our quarterly profits, and she didn't even wait for the door to close before she started shouting.

​"Did you see their faces, Adrian? They’re pulling out, I can feel it, and if the board sees another drop in the stock price, we won't even have enough left to pay the mortgage on the estate," Elena snapped, her voice high and shrill as she shoved a tablet into my hand showing the latest market trends.

​"I’m doing my best, Elena, the core logic is unstable and I don't know why, it’s like the foundations of the software were built to fail after a certain point," I grunted, dropping into a chair and rubbing my temples where a dull headache was starting to throb.

​"Well, your best isn't enough anymore, because NOVA//CORE just announced they’re launching their new OS next month, and every single one of our legacy clients is jumping ship to sign with them," she said, leaning over me with a desperate look in her eyes, "you have to get that meeting with their founder, V, you have to convince them that a merger is the only way to save both companies."

​"I’ve already secured the meeting, it’s happening in an hour at their headquarters," I said, standing up and trying to straighten my jacket, though I felt much older than my years when I looked in the mirror and saw the grey hairs at my temples.

​The car ride to the NOVA//CORE skyscraper was silent, and I spent the entire time staring out the window at my own building, which looked small and dated compared to the obsidian tower we were approaching. I practiced my pitch over and over in my head, planning to tell this mysterious 'V' that my brand name was still worth billions and that an old man with his technical skill needed a young, aggressive face like mine to handle the public relations. I assumed the founder was some reclusive academic who had spent his life in a lab, someone I could easily manipulate once we were in a room together, because I had built my entire career on being the charming visionary that people wanted to believe in.

​When we arrived, the lobby was silent and high-tech, and a stern-looking assistant led us to the top floor where the glass walls showed the entire city laid out like a map. Elena was clutching her designer bag so tight her knuckles were white, and she kept whispering about how we needed to ask for at least a forty-percent stake in the new venture.

​"Just let me do the talking, Elena, these tech types are easy to read once you get them talking about their work," I whispered as the double doors to the main boardroom slid open with a soft hiss.

​The room was vast, and a high-backed leather chair was turned away from us, facing the window where the sun was beginning to set over the horizon.

​"Mr. V, thank you for seeing us on such short notice, I’m Adrian Kade, and I think we have a lot to discuss regarding the future of the industry and how our two firms can dominate the market together," I said, putting on my most confident smile and walking toward the desk with my hand extended.

​The chair began to rotate slowly, and I felt a strange, cold prickle at the back of my neck as a pair of high-heeled shoes came into view, followed by a sleek, tailored suit that looked like it cost a fortune. When the chair finally stopped, my hand froze in mid-air and my heart felt like it had stopped beating entirely, because it wasn't an old man sitting there.

​It was Liora.

​She looked radiant, her skin was glowing and her hair was styled in a sharp, professional cut that made her look like royalty, and she didn't look at me with anger or sadness, she just looked at me like I was a bug she was about to sweep off her desk.

​"Liora?" Elena gasped, her voice cracking as she stepped back and nearly tripped over her own heels, "What are you doing here? How did you get past security?"

​"I own the security, Elena, and I own this building, and as of ten minutes ago, I own the debt your fiancé has been hiding from you," Liora said, her voice smooth and cold, like ice sliding over silk.

​"You’re V?" I managed to choke out, the realization hitting me like a physical blow to the stomach, "all this time, you were the one behind NOVA//CORE? But how? You left with nothing, I made sure of it."

​"You made sure I left with the things you thought were valuable, Adrian, like your name and your pathetic social standing," Liora replied, leaning back and crossing her legs as she tapped a pen against a stack of documents, "but you forgot that I was the one who built your empire, and once I wasn't there to patch the holes you kept making, it was only a matter of time before it all fell apart."

​"Liora, listen, we were a team once, we can be again," I said, stepping forward desperately, "this merger can save everything, we can put the past behind us and—"

​"This isn't a merger, Adrian, I didn't bring you here to partner with you," she interrupted, sliding a single sheet of paper across the desk toward me, "this is a total liquidation of KadeTech, I’ve bought up your shares through various shells, and I’m here to tell you that you’re being evicted from your own office by Monday morning."

​"You can't do this, I’ll fight you in court!" Elena screamed, but Liora didn't even glance at her.

​"With what money, Elena? You’ve spent the last of your reserves on that dress and the PR campaign for a failed demo," Liora said, finally standing up and walking around the desk until she was inches away from me.

​I looked into her eyes and I didn't see the quiet, submissive wife I had married, I saw a woman who had spent four years becoming my worst nightmare, and for the first time in my life, I felt truly small.

​"You were always just the face I chose to wear for a while, Adrian, because I thought I needed someone like you to be heard," she whispered, her voice leaning in close so only I could hear the finality in it, "but it turns out, the world listens just fine when the person speaking actually knows what they’re talking about."