Ex-Alpha's Regret: Siren's Comeback novel Chapter 21

POV: Seraphina

For a full day after Damian crushed my meeting with Alpha Kian, I did nothing. I stared at the leather-bound folder for the charity fund, a monument to my humiliation, and felt a dangerous, chilling apathy creep over me. The fight was going out of me, replaced by the crushing weight of his absolute power. He could anticipate and dismantle my every move before I even made it. Defiance felt futile, like a mouse struggling in the jaws of a lion.

But then, late into the second night, my laptop pinged. It was an encrypted message from Killian. I had told him the meeting was off, offering no details, only a curt apology for wasting his time. I expected silence in return. Instead, I got a question.

"Was the cancellation a result of external pressure or a flaw in the proposal?"

His message was a lifeline. It wasn't pity. It was a strategic inquiry. He wasn't seeing a failure; he was analyzing a failed operation. His detached, professional curiosity was the spark I needed. I hadn't failed. I had been sabotaged. And that was a crucial distinction.

My despair hardened once more into cold resolve. I spent the next six hours refining my entire plan. Damian thought my ambition was a cute hobby? I would show him a revolution. I ripped apart my initial proposal, making it bigger, bolder, more ruthless. I wasn't just building an alternate trade route anymore. I was drafting a plan to create a new economic power bloc, one designed to systematically bleed the major alliances dry by poaching their most valuable smaller partners. I detailed how to leverage their political rivalries, exploit their resource dependencies, and create a system so appealing to the oppressed smaller packs that it would be irresistible.

It was no longer a business plan. It was a declaration of war.

"Your analysis is flawless. This plan is not just viable; it is formidable. But it is a plan without a general. It lacks a public face, a credible execution platform, and the starting capital to make the first move. My firm can provide all three. Your plan, our resources. Your strategy, our execution. North Star Logistics has outgrown its anonymous shell. If you are willing to step out of the shadows, Vance Capital is prepared to offer you a position as our lead managing partner in this venture."

I stared at the screen, at the words "lead managing partner." It wasn't a handout. It wasn't an offer of help. It was a job offer. A seat at the head of the table. This unseen man wasn't just my admirer or my ally. He was the first person in the world who saw my true value.

He had just given me a key, and I knew it would unlock my cage.