The next morning, New York woke up to chaos.
Financial news channels lit up every screen in the city.
Anchors spoke in urgent tones.
Market analysts rushed through charts.
Large digital boards in Times Square flashed red.
The first strike had landed.
Inside the Carter mansion dining hall, the atmosphere was heavier than usual.
Richard Carter sat at the head of the table, his tablet in hand, expression dark.
Victoria had already stopped eating.
Her eyes were fixed on multiple financial reports.
Scarlett frowned.
"What happened?"
Victoria turned the screen toward the family.
Three major companies within Bruce's hidden network were under attack.
Hudson Freight
Metro Energy
Eastline Storage
Their stocks had plunged overnight.
Large sell orders.
Sudden rumours.
Anonymous reports.
The kind of movement that did not happen naturally.
Richard's voice hardened.
"This is coordinated."
Victoria nodded.
"Very coordinated."
Bruce calmly lifted his teacup.
Inside, Aron Turner's mind had already begun calculating.
Someone had entered the board.
A new player.
Luna's silver eyes immediately shifted toward him.
Bruce looked too calm.
Again.
She narrowed her eyes.
"You already know something."
Bruce looked up at her.
"Maybe."
Victoria ignored the exchange and zoomed into the reports.
Then her eyes sharpened.
"This isn't Victor Hale."
Richard slowly nodded.
"No."
The room fell silent.
Bruce's fingers paused lightly against the cup.
Interesting.
So they even noticed.
This attack pattern was different.
Victor moved with precision.
This…
This was brute market pressure.
A hostile push.
Bruce whispered inwardly,
"So you finally appeared."
Across Manhattan, inside Victor Hale's penthouse office, the same red market screens glowed against the dark glass walls.
One of his analysts spoke quickly.
"Sir, Major coordinated a sell-pressure hit the network."
Victor crossed his arms.
"Source?"
The analyst zoomed in.
Several shell firms.
Private funds.
Shadow investment groups.
Then one symbol appeared.
A black wolf crest.
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"Adrian Wolfe."
The room went silent.
One analyst looked confused.
"Sir?"
Victor's voice turned colder.
"He's here."
Far away, in another glass tower on the west side of Manhattan—
A man stood before a massive panoramic window.
Tall.
Sharp jawline.
Dark tailored suit.
Cold grey eyes.
Adrian Wolfe.
Behind him, multiple financial advisors stood in silence.
He slowly swirled a glass of whisky in one hand while watching the market crash unfold.
On the large screen behind him, the names glowed red.
Hudson Freight.
Metro Energy.
Eastline Storage.
Adrian's lips curved slightly.
"So this is the system Victor has been playing with."
His voice was smooth.
Dangerously calm.
One of his advisors spoke carefully.
"Sir, initial sell pressure was successful."
Adrian nodded.
"Good."
He turned toward the screen.
"Let's see how this hidden architect responds."
Inside the Carter library, Bruce sat alone.
The space system interface floated before him.
Red indicators flashed across multiple sectors.
Sell pressure.
Media manipulation.
Insurance risk spikes.
Supply chain panic.
Bruce leaned back slowly.
"Elegant."
This attack wasn't random.
It targeted confidence.
Investor trust.
Supply stability.
This was a market predator.
Bruce opened the trace panel.
Within seconds, the shell firms appeared.
Then the wolf crest.
Bruce's eyes sharpened.
"Adrian Wolfe."
A competitor.
And a dangerous one.
Unlike Victor—
Adrian attacked openly.
He wanted destruction.
Bruce whispered,
"You're testing the system."
Good.
Very good.
Because Bruce loved tests.
Inside Victor's penthouse—
Victor's phone vibrated.
He looked at the screen.
A message from Bruce.
You know him.Talk.
Victor smiled faintly.
Then typed back.
Adrian Wolfe.Corporate raider.Underworld financier.He destroys systems and buys the remains.He's testing you.
Bruce read the reply inside the library.
His expression didn't change.
Corporate predator.
Classic.
Aron Turner had dealt with men like this before.
People who profited from panic.
Bruce leaned forward slightly.
"Then let's give him something to buy."
His fingers moved across the interface.
Immediately—
The system began shifting.
Across the market—
Hudson Freight's liquidity moved into hidden holding firms.
Metro Energy rerouted capital.
Eastline Storage moved physical assets into temporary shell structures.
To the outside world—
It looked like weakness.
Like retreat.
Like collapse.
Inside Adrian Wolfe's tower—
His advisor smiled.
"Sir, they're moving assets."
Adrian's lips curved.
"They're panicking."
He set down the glass.
"Good."
"Move phase two."
The market screens flashed again.
A second wave of sell pressure hit.
Even stronger.
Inside the Carter library—
Bruce smiled.
"Exactly."
He had wanted Adrian to overcommit.
The second wave would expose his capital pathways.
Bruce whispered,
"You stepped too far forward."
The system trace panel lit up.
Adrian's real liquidity channels.
Three shadow banks.
Two hedge routes.
One offshore reserve.
Bruce's smile deepened.
"Found you."
Across Manhattan—
Victor Hale stood by the window, watching the red market charts.
Then suddenly—
He laughed.
One of his analysts looked confused.
"Sir?"
Victor smiled.
"Bruce baited him."
The analyst froze.
Victor's eyes gleamed.
"He let the system look weak."
"So Adrian would double down."
Victor slowly turned back to the screen.
"And now…"
His smile widened.
"…the counterattack begins."
Inside the Carter mansion—
Luna stood outside the library again.
Her silver eyes fixed on the door.
Inside, Bruce's soft voice echoed faintly.
Numbers.
Names.
Company movements.
She whispered,
"Who is Adrian Wolfe?"
The storm around Bruce was growing bigger.
And now—
She could feel another dangerous presence entering his world.