The city had places that never appeared on maps.
Not because they were hidden—but because no one important wanted to admit they existed.
The dive bar was one of them.
It squatted between an abandoned pawn shop and a shuttered laundromat, its flickering neon sign buzzing like an insect on life support. The air outside smelled of stale rain and rusted metal. Inside, it smelled worse—cheap whiskey, old smoke, and regret that had soaked into the walls over decades.
Avery Rivers pushed the door open.
Conversations dipped for half a second, then resumed. She wasn't recognized here. No cameras. No fans. No hate mobs. Just men and women who had already lost something important.
Good.
She activated her Appraisal Eyes.
The world sharpened.
Faces blurred into data.
And then she saw him.
Elias Vance sat alone at the far end of the bar, hunched over a chipped glass. His suit was expensive once—tailored shoulders, Italian cut—but now it was wrinkled, stained, and worn like armor that had failed its owner.
[Target Identified: Elias Vance][Former Title: Youngest "Super Lawyer" in National History][Potential: S-Rank (Legal / Business Warfare)][Current Status: Spirit Broken | License Revoked | Reputation Buried]
A red annotation blinked beneath.
[Note: Attempted exposure of Titan Management money-laundering network.]
Avery's lips pressed into a thin line.
So Marcus hadn't just ruined artists.
He destroyed anyone who threatened the machine.
She walked over and sat across from Elias without asking.
The chair scraped loudly against the floor.
Elias didn't look up.
Didn't react.
Didn't care.
"I don't need a lawyer to file paperwork," Avery said calmly. "I need a shark."
That got a response.
A slow, humorless snort escaped Elias's nose.
He took another drink, then finally raised his eyes.
They were bloodshot.
Sharp.
Still dangerous, beneath the exhaustion.
"You're lost," he said. "This isn't a casting couch or a pity tour."
Avery didn't blink.
"I'm looking for someone who knows how to tear out arteries without leaving fingerprints," she replied. "So no. I'm exactly where I need to be."
Elias stared at her for a long moment.
Then recognition flickered.
His mouth twisted.
"Oh," he said. "You're that girl."
Avery waited.
"The 'Seven-Way' girl," he continued, voice dripping with contempt. "Nation's Sweetheart turned Nation's Dumpster Fire."
He leaned back.
"Broke. Blacklisted. Untouchable."
He gestured lazily with his glass.
"Go home."
The words were meant to dismiss her.
They didn't.
Avery leaned forward slightly.
The lights above them flickered.
Her Ice Queen Aura expanded unconsciously, and the temperature around the table seemed to drop a few degrees. The smoke in the air felt heavier, slower.
"I'm the girl," Avery said quietly, "who made two million dollars in twenty-four hours from a song they couldn't block."
Elias's hand paused mid-air.
She continued.
"I'm the girl who owns scripts that will dominate the next decade of film and television."
Another beat.
"I'm the girl whose name Titan Management tried to erase—and failed."
She leaned closer.
"What I don't have," she finished, "is someone to handle the bloodwork."
The bar noise seemed to fade.
Elias stared at her.
Really stared this time.
Then he laughed.
A harsh, barking sound.
"Kid," he said, shaking his head. "Titan doesn't lose. They erase. I tried to expose them once."
His smile vanished.
"They buried me alive."
Avery reached into her coat and pulled out a tablet.
She didn't push it toward him immediately.
Instead, she unlocked the screen.
THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT – CHAPTERS 1–3
Only then did she slide it across the table.
"Five minutes," she said. "If you're still bored, I'll leave."
Elias hesitated.
Then curiosity—his oldest addiction—won.
He picked up the tablet.
One minute passed.
His posture changed.
Two minutes.
The sneer faded.
Three minutes.
His eyes began to move faster.
Four minutes.
His breathing slowed, then steadied.
At five minutes, the bar noise returned—but Elias didn't notice.
For the first time in three years, his eyes sharpened.
Not with anger.
With calculation.
"This isn't just a story," he said slowly.
"No," Avery agreed. "It's a confession."
"And a trap," Elias added.
She smiled.
"And a guillotine."
Elias set the tablet down carefully.
"Do you know what happens if Titan realizes you're building an independent IP empire?" he asked.
"They sue."
"They threaten."
"They isolate."
"They fabricate crimes."
"They ruin everyone who touches you."
Avery met his gaze without flinching.
"I know."
Silence stretched.
Then Elias leaned back and laughed again—but this time, there was something alive in it.
"You're insane," he said.
"Usually," Avery replied, "that's how sharks recognize one another."
He studied her for a long moment.
"Why me?" he asked. "You could hire any mid-tier firm. Quiet. Safe."
"Safe lawyers don't kill giants," Avery said. "They negotiate with them."
Elias's jaw tightened.
"You want Titan destroyed."
"I want them exposed," Avery corrected. "Destroyed is just the side effect."
Elias exhaled slowly.
"My law license is gone," he said. "But my mind isn't. And I remember every offshore account Marcus ever touched."
Avery's Appraisal Eyes flared.
[Spirit Status: Rekindling][Potential Output Increasing…]
Elias continued, voice low.
"If I do this, they'll come for me again."
Avery stood.
She placed one hand flat on the table.
"Then this time," she said, "you won't be alone."
She extended her hand.
"I'm not offering you redemption," she said. "I'm offering you revenge—with structure."
Elias stared at her hand.
Then at her face.
Then he stood and shook it.
"Fine," he said. "I'll be your shark."
The System chimed softly.
[Key Ally Acquired: Elias Vance][Role: Legal Strategist / Corporate Warfare Specialist][Synergy Detected with Path of the Mogul]
Outside, the neon sign flickered once—then steadied.
Avery turned toward the door.
"Tomorrow," Elias said behind her, "we start building shells."
She paused.
"Shells?"
"Companies," he replied. "Layers. Jurisdictions. Firewalls."
A slow smile crossed Avery's face.
"Good," she said. "Marcus likes mazes."
She stepped into the night.
Behind her, a fallen shark had found water again.
And Titan Management had just gained an enemy who knew where the bodies were buried.