เข้าสู่ระบบThe executive floor of Valcor Tower felt unusually quiet that morning.The silence wasn't natural.It was the kind that settled over a place after everyone had already read the headlines but no one wanted to be the first to speak.Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, Vesper City slowly came back to life after an early dawn shower. The rain had washed the skyline clean, leaving behind thick gray clouds that still hung low over the city. Sunlight struggled to break through, turning the glass towers into muted silhouettes. Below, traffic gradually filled the streets while television crews gathered outside financial buildings across downtown.Every television inside Valcor displayed the same breaking news.Zero Degree Holdings officially under financial investigation.Project Orion once again becomes the center of public scrutiny.Inside the CEO's office, the muted voices of news anchors blended with the distant rumble of thunder.Aizen Deveraux stood before the enormous glass window with
The first cracks appeared before noon.By the afternoon, they had become fractures.And by evening, the entire corporate landscape surrounding Orion was shaking.Inside Valcor's executive floor, tension hung thick in the air.Every screen seemed to display the same headlines.ZERO DEGREE FINANCIAL INVESTIGATION EXPANDSAUTHORITIES EXAMINING POSSIBLE LINKS TO MAJOR CORPORATE PARTNERSORION PROJECT FACES NEW QUESTIONSThe investigation that Estella had deliberately forced into existence was now moving under its own momentum.And momentum was dangerous.Because once a machine started rolling downhill, nobody could guarantee where it would stop.Or who it would crush.Several floors above the executive offices, a board meeting had already turned ugly.Representatives from Troyan were demanding explanations.Vraux executives were attempting to distance themselves from Zero Degree.Valcor's legal department was fighting to protect the company's reputation.Everyone wanted someone else to bl
The summer morning over Vesper City looked deceptively peaceful.Sunlight spilled across the skyline, turning the glass towers downtown into sheets of gold. Traffic moved steadily beneath the elevated highways. People hurried to work carrying coffee cups and briefcases, unaware that somewhere inside the city, a war was quietly changing direction.Inside the safe house, however, no one was paying attention to the weather.The atmosphere in the room felt heavy.The kind of heavy that settled over people when they finally realized they weren't dealing with a mystery anymore.They were dealing with an enemy.Estella sat at the end of the table with a stack of documents in front of her.Lionel stood by the window.Jonathan Ritz occupied the armchair near the bookshelf, his injured shoulder still healing. He looked healthier than he had a week ago, but traces of exhaustion still lingered beneath his eyes.Across from them, Devon was sorting through files while Vivianne leaned over his shoul
By eight in the morning, Valcor felt less like a corporation and more like a building waiting for an explosion.The lobby screens were flooded with headlines.Photos.Speculation.Rumors.Questions.Every news outlet in Vesper City seemed obsessed with the same story.Estella Duan.Sebastian Reeves.Zero Degree Holdings.And inevitably...Project Orion.Employees whispered near elevators.Assistants gathered around coffee stations.Even senior managers looked distracted.The scandal had spread faster than anyone expected.Exactly as Estella had planned.Outside the glass walls of the building, summer sunlight reflected off the towers surrounding downtown Vesper City. The sky was bright and cloudless, but the atmosphere inside Valcor was heavy enough to feel like an approaching storm.Estella stepped into the executive conference room carrying a folder.Every seat was occupied.Several board members were already waiting.Some looked irritated.Some looked worried.Some looked angry.Ai
Summer had arrived in Vesper City with relentless determination.The morning sun reflected off the glass towers downtown, turning the financial district into a maze of blinding light and heat. Even before nine o'clock, the sidewalks were crowded with office workers carrying iced coffee and rushing toward buildings that promised deadlines and pressure.Inside Valcor Tower, however, the atmosphere felt strangely different.Everyone was talking about the same thing.Estella Duan.Again.Vivianne dropped a stack of reports onto her desk before pulling out a chair and sitting beside her.“You're trending.”Estella didn't even look up from her laptop.“That sounds terrible.”“It is.”Vivianne slid her phone across the desk.Several headlines filled the screen.VALCOR SECRETARY LINKED TO INVESTOR SCANDALAFFAIR RUMORS SHAKE ORION PROJECTWHO IS ESTELLA DUAN?Estella calmly returned the phone.Then continued typing.Vivianne stared.“You're not going to respond?”“No.”“Clarify anything?”“No
The morning heat arrived early in Vesper City.Even before nine o'clock, sunlight was already reflecting off the glass towers surrounding Valcor Headquarters. The city looked bright from the outside, but inside the lobby, tension hung in the air thick enough to suffocate anyone standing too long in it.Nobody moved.Nobody spoke.The sound of torn photographs drifting across the marble floor seemed louder than it should have been.Estella stood in the center of the lobby.Calm.Collected.As if she hadn't just been slapped in front of half the company.Across from her, Mrs. Reeves was still breathing hard, her face flushed with anger.Aizen stood beside Estella now.Cold.Dangerously cold.The kind of expression that usually made executives reconsider their careers.But Mrs. Reeves had already crossed the point of no return."I want a public apology," she said loudly.Her voice echoed through the lobby."I want Estella Duan to admit what she did."She pointed toward the scattered phot
The ballroom shimmered beneath crystal chandeliers.Soft classical music floated through the air while waiters in black uniforms moved between guests carrying champagne and expensive wine. The entire venue smelled like luxury, perfume, and hidden intentions.Estella stood near the grand staircase,
The city lights outside Estella’s apartment blurred behind the thin layer of rain sliding down the glass window.She stood there silently for a long time.Too long.The anonymous photo still glowed faintly from her phone screen on the coffee table behind her.A younger version of Aizen.Charles Noi
The morning air in Greyford felt colder than usual.Estella stood near the kitchen counter with a cup of tea in her hand, staring blankly at the steam rising from it. Her grandparents were still asleep upstairs. The house was quiet. Too quiet.And silence was dangerous for someone whose mind refuse
Estella closed the folder slowly.Too slowly.As if sudden movements would make the truth inside it explode.Her fingers lingered on the edge of the paper for a second before she slid the file back into the compartment beneath the passenger seat exactly where she had found it.Her heartbeat was une







