Shadows and Schemes

Ethan sat alone, the hum of the city outside his window a distant murmur. His fingers drummed softly against the desk, but his mind was a storm.

People like you don't last long.

The voice from the call was too calm, too measured—this wasn't just a threat. It was a message, delivered with surgical precision. Meditech had been aggressive before, sure—but this? This was something else.

Lisa's voice cut through the fog. "You okay? You're doing that thing again—where you go all broody and intense."

He forced a thin smile. "Just thinking."

He could've told her. Maybe he should've. But there was a weight to that call that made him hesitate. It wasn't just about protecting his team—it was about understanding who was actually pulling the strings. Meditech was obvious, too obvious. This felt...wider. Deeper.

Still, they didn't have time for paranoia.

"We need to be ready," Ethan said finally. "Meditech isn't going to stop with PR smear campaigns. They're going to tighten the noose—pressuring suppliers, leaning on hospital boards, maybe even poking around in our systems."

Selena, leaning against the doorframe, raised an eyebrow. "Cyberattacks?"

Ethan nodded. "I'd bet on it."

Her smile was razor-sharp. "Good. I was starting to get bored."

The next morning, the first signs of pressure hit hard.

Hospitals that had shown interest suddenly ghosted Priya's follow-ups. Others, more blunt, said they'd been warned off by 'trusted advisors' about Ethan's company being unstable, inexperienced, and reckless.

Priya slammed her tablet onto the war room table. "This isn't just Meditech whispering in a few ears. This is a coordinated blackout. They're freezing us out before we can even build momentum."

Lisa's shoulders tensed. "Without hospital partners, our tech is useless. We need real-world data. Clinical trials. Patient success stories."

Ethan leaned back, thinking fast. Every plan they had relied on access—to hospitals, to patient networks, to institutional partnerships. But if Meditech could lock every door, there was only one way left.

"We take it direct-to-user," he said, his voice steady. "Public beta. We release a version of the AI platform directly to independent doctors, small clinics, even individual users. Meditech controls the hospitals, but they don't control the people."

Lisa's eyes widened. "You want to bypass the system completely?"

"Why not?" Ethan's pulse picked up. "We prove the tech works in the wild. Real doctors, real patients, real results. If enough people see the impact firsthand, hospitals will have no choice but to follow—or look like they're standing in the way of progress."

Selena grinned like a wolf. "That's bold."

Ryan hesitated, tapping his pen nervously. "It's also waving a red flag at a bull. If they were playing dirty before, this puts us in their kill zone. They won't just smear us. They'll come for us—legally, financially, even physically."

Ethan met his gaze, calm but unshakable. "Let them. They think they own this industry because no one's ever fought back. That changes now."

That night, Ethan sat alone in his apartment, the city lights flickering through the window. His body ached from exhaustion, but sleep was a distant dream.

The phone buzzed.

Unknown Number.

He stared at it for a moment, then answered.

Silence.

Then, a slow, deliberate exhale.

"I warned you, Mr. Carter."

Ethan's jaw clenched. "If you've got something to say, say it. Otherwise, I've got work to do."

A soft chuckle. "Arrogance. You're playing checkers on a chessboard you can't even see."

Ethan's fingers tightened around the phone. "Who are you?"

The voice ignored the question. "Walk away now, and you might still salvage your life. Push forward, and you'll lose more than your company."

The line went dead.

Ethan set the phone down carefully, every nerve in his body on edge. This wasn't just a rival corporation trying to crush a startup. This was something darker—something older.

This wasn't about technology anymore.

This was about power.

He stood, staring at his reflection in the window. Tired eyes. A face caught between fear and defiance.

They were coming for him. Whoever they were.

But they'd learn something very soon.

Ethan Carter doesn't scare easy.