The air was heavier in the underground war room. Silence buzzed louder than noise. On one monitor, Camille's face froze mid-laugh—captured during a leaked video call with a covert arms investor. On another screen, financial data danced, painting a clear picture: Camille was rebuilding faster than anyone had anticipated.
"She's got someone bigger backing her," Nancy said, arms crossed. "That's how she's recovering assets we froze."
Adrian, standing beside her, nodded. "The Cairo connection?"
"Worse," Nancy muttered. "An old Blackwood rival. My grandfather's enemy—Lucien Hart."
Adrian's expression shifted. "I thought he disappeared after the 2008 fallout."
"He didn't disappear," Nancy said. "He went quiet. Now he's back. And he wants Blackwood for himself."
---
The Tactic Shift
Nancy pulled out a sealed envelope. "Operation Mirage."
Adrian raised a brow. "You finally activating it?"
She nodded. "It's time. If Camille and Lucien want to play God, we'll make them think they already won."
Operation Mirage was more than an infiltration—it was misdirection at its finest. Nancy planned to leak fabricated Blackwood intel, luring Camille's network into a false sense of control, then pull the rug from beneath them at the critical moment.
"Everything needs to look like it's falling apart," she explained. "Our stocks. Our board. Even... us."
Adrian blinked. "You want to fake a collapse of Blackwood?"
"And a fake breakup between us," Nancy added quietly.
He sighed. "This is either brilliant or insane."
Nancy smirked. "That's what makes it fun."
---
Public Fallout
Within a week, Blackwood Industries saw a sudden dip in market performance. Nancy and Adrian stopped appearing together in public. Paparazzi snapped photos of them walking apart. Headlines screamed:
> "Power Couple Cracks: Are Nancy and Adrian Over?"
"Blackwood's Fall? Insider Shake-Ups Spark Panic"
Behind closed doors, Nancy was in complete control.
But not everyone knew the truth.
---
The Slip
One night, Nancy returned to her apartment and found Adrian sitting in the dark, staring at an old photo—him and Lily, back when things were simpler.
"You okay?" she asked.
He didn't answer right away.
Finally, he looked up. "Do you ever wonder how different things would've been if we'd never met?"
Nancy hesitated. "All the time."
"But then," he said, setting the photo down, "I remember that no one has ever challenged me, changed me, or inspired me the way you have. Even when I hated you."
She walked to him slowly. "We might have started with revenge. But this... whatever this is, it's ours."
They didn't kiss.
They didn't touch.
But the silence between them felt warmer than anything spoken.
---
Final Scene – The Real Enemy Moves
In a secret vault in Cairo, Lucien Hart stood before Camille.
"You've failed," he said coldly.
Camille swallowed. "I'll fix it—"
"No," he interrupted. "You've been distracted by emotion. That's your weakness."
He turned away.
"You'll assist. But I'm leading now."
Camille's fists clenched. But she didn't argue.
As Lucien's team rolled out blueprints of advanced AI-controlled market sabotage, Camille realized something chilling:
She might've lost the game to Nancy.
But now she was playing in one she didn't even understand.