The War Begins

Ethan's grip tightened around his phone, knuckles pale as the message glared back at him.

You just made a very big mistake.

There was no doubt now—this wasn't a bluff. Someone was watching. Calculating. Ready to act the moment Ethan crossed the next invisible line.

Lisa caught the tension in his jaw. "Another threat?"

"Yeah." Ethan set the phone down. "And this time, it feels like they mean it."

Ryan leaned back, rubbing his temples. "Desperate enemies are unpredictable. We need to assume they'll hit us from every angle—legal, digital, maybe even physical."

"Agreed." Priya spun her laptop toward them. "And we might have a bigger problem. Meditech's stock is tanking, but…" She paused, lips pressed together. "Their board isn't panicking. They're almost… calm."

Selena frowned. "That's not how corporations work. Unless…"

"They've got a contingency plan," Ethan finished. "They knew this storm was coming."

"Then the real question isn't how Meditech falls," Selena said. "It's who's waiting to catch the pieces."

That night, Ethan's apartment felt more like a bunker than a home. The faint hum of the city below should've been comforting, but all he heard was silence between every breath.

He wasn't just running a startup anymore. He was leading a rebellion.

At what cost?

A sharp knock at the door.

Ethan froze for a beat before checking the peephole.

Selena.

He opened up. "It's late. What's wrong?"

She stepped inside, her usual air of cocky confidence tempered by something sharper—urgency. "I dug into Meditech's backers."

"And?"

She held up her phone, a document glowing on the screen. "It's not just Meditech."

Ethan scanned the page—and felt the blood drain from his face.

Blackthorn Holdings.

A global hydra. One tentacle in pharmaceuticals, another in defense, others in tech, energy, even governments. They weren't just a corporation. They were the kind of entity that decides who gets to change the world—and who disappears trying.

"They're not just trying to crush you," Selena said quietly. "They want to own you. Or bury you so deep no one remembers your name."

Ethan's jaw tightened. "Then we make damn sure they do remember it."

Morning came fast.

The office pulsed with tension and adrenaline—countdown to the public beta was in motion, but Ethan's focus was elsewhere.

Blackthorn wasn't a competitor. Blackthorn was the hidden hand that made competitors rise and fall.

Lisa stormed into the war room. "We've got a breach attempt—someone came at our servers hard last night. They didn't get in, but it was close."

Ethan's stomach turned. "Meditech?"

Lisa shook her head. "Worse. This wasn't a corporate probe. This was military-grade. Someone who doesn't knock twice."

The connection was clear now. Meditech was a pawn. Blackthorn was the player. And Ethan had just become a problem worth solving.

"Alright." Ethan exhaled slowly, then straightened his shoulders. "Then we stop acting like underdogs. No more startup mindset. From now on, we think like a movement—like revolutionaries."

He turned to his team, voice sharp and certain:

"Selena—activate every contact you have. Not just press and influencers—I want political pressure points. Senators, regulators, watchdogs. Make it clear that if we fall, a lot of dirty laundry hits daylight."

"Lisa—lock down our systems like we're under siege. Assume they have inside access somewhere. No trust, only verification."

"Ryan—Blackthorn is your only priority now. Find every weakness, every scandal, every grudge anyone holds against them. I want weapons."

"Priya—focus on the beta. That launch happens no matter what. If we're going down, we go down in flames loud enough to shake the sky."

No hesitation. No debate. His team saw the line in the sand—and stepped over it without looking back.

Ethan glanced at the city skyline, sunlight creeping over the glass towers.

This wasn't just about a product anymore.

This was about who gets to shape the future—and who gets crushed protecting the past.

Ethan Carter had made his choice.

The war had begun.