The morning sun broke over Frankstad, casting long rays across the charred, soot-stained fourth-floor windows of City Central Tower.
Down at the local diner, Miller and his bewildered strike team were already fueling up their SUVs to drive back to New Havenport. Convinced by the system's amnesia gas that their own thermite charges had accidentally misfired and incinerated the building, they filed an urgent report to Gordi: Neo Trading's headquarters is a total loss. The server room is melted down to slag.
Inside his executive penthouse in New Havenport, Gordi slammed his fist onto his mahogany desk, a vicious grin spreading across his face.
"Finally," Gordi muttered, leaning back with his cigar. "The upstart is wiped out. Leave them alone—let them rot in the ashes."
Gordi had no idea he was celebrating a ghost.
Three miles away, sitting quietly in a corner booth at a local café, eleven-year-old Ethan sipped a glass of warm milk while watching Mark Vance, Elena, Jacob, and the core team review a stack of fresh corporate documents.
"The insurance assessor just finished his inspection," Elena whispered, keeping her voice low. "He ruled it an accidental electrical fault originating from the old Minisoft wiring. The property insurance payout will clear in two weeks: $280,000."
Mark shook his head, still looking slightly dazed. "It's a miracle nobody was in the building when it went up. But Ethan... what do we do about Neo Trading? Our physical office is gone, and even though the live e-commerce database is backed up safely in the cloud, our local banking accounts and merchant terminals are tied to the Neo Trading name. If Gordi's people dig deeper, they'll realize we're still operating."
"We don't rebuild Neo Trading," Ethan said calmly, sliding a pristine, newly minted corporate folder across the table. "He orchestrated a clean transition into a brand-new entity: Apex Capital."
Jacob adjusted his spectacles, scanning the structural paperwork. "Apex Capital? And where will this new firm be based?"
"Willow Creek," Ethan replied evenly. "A better, larger city with superior infrastructure. Since a good portion of our employees originally hailed from Willow Creek or nearby districts, relocating everyone there will be a welcome change. Nobody will face hardship; housing allowances and relocation bonuses will be fully covered by the firm."
Elena traced her finger down the acquisition ledger. "Using three independent shell companies domiciled in New Havenport and Willowbrook to bridge the transfer means there is zero paper trail connecting Apex Capital back to Neo Trading. To anyone looking—including Gordi's oil syndicate—Neo Trading burned down and went bankrupt, while Apex Capital is just an independent new financial player that bought up the distressed assets and domain."
"Exactly," Ethan said. "And the leadership structure is shifting. Jacob, Elena, and Marcus will lead the firm directly. I am handing over the day-to-day operations to you three. You will manage the silver trading, the e-commerce platform, and the physical vault relations."
Marcus looked surprised. "And you, Ethan? Where will you be?"
"I am still residing in Frankstad with my family for the time being," Ethan said smoothly. "I'll build a small, unassuming private office right here in Frankstad. From there, I will oversee operations, guide macro strategy, and interact with the Willow Creek team daily through high-speed internet uplinks. On weekends—or whenever required—I'll travel to Willow Creek to check on physical progress in person."
The transition roadmap was mapped out cleanly: over the next three to four months, all remaining assets, software licenses, domain names, physical bullion reserves, and cloud contracts would be fully migrated to Apex Capital in Willow Creek. Following that, an additional six months would be dedicated to fully stabilizing the new office and cementing the leadership handover to Jacob, Marcus, and Elena.
By the end of the month, the blueprint was put into motion.
Neo Trading Group was officially dissolved, buried beneath insurance reports and soot. In its place, Apex Capital rose seamlessly in a secure, modern facility in Willow Creek. Under the veteran leadership of Jacob, Elena, and Marcus, the silver e-commerce platform didn't miss a single day of uptime—its trading volume continuing to climb past three million units a month.