A Dangerous Proposition

The sun had barely risen, but Ethan was already buried deep in data, every file Ryan uncovered about Blackthorn Holdings glowing on his screen.

It was worse than he'd imagined.

Blackthorn wasn't a company—it was a machine. One that didn't just compete. It controlled. Supply chains, global policies, even the rise and fall of entire industries. Governments feared them. Corporations served them.

Startups like Ethan's?

They got erased.

A sharp knock shattered the silence. Ethan looked up, heart pounding. Lisa stood in the doorway, her face pale.

"Ethan… you have a visitor."

Before he could respond, they stepped in.

Two men, both in tailored black suits, moving like they owned the oxygen in the room. The taller of the two—silver-haired, ice-eyed—extended a hand.

"Mr. Ethan Cross, I presume?" His smile was polite. Empty. "Victor Langley. I represent Blackthorn Holdings. We need to talk."

The conference room felt colder than usual.

Victor placed a sleek, unmarked black folder on the table. No logos. No insignia. Just weight—like whatever it held could crush everything Ethan built.

Ethan's team flanked him: Selena, arms crossed, eyes sharp; Ryan, tapping a pen in restrained frustration; Lisa, silent but tense, reading every microexpression.

Victor's smile was practiced, perfectly balanced between charm and condescension.

"You've made quite a splash, Mr. Cross." Victor's voice was silk-wrapped steel. "Few startups disrupt an empire like Meditech. But you've done more than that—you've attracted attention from people who rarely lower themselves to notice names like yours."

Ethan leaned back, deliberately unimpressed. "If you're here to threaten me, you're late. Meditech already tried. Didn't work."

Victor chuckled softly. "Threats? No, no. I'm here to offer you a future."

Selena's posture stiffened. "Skip the sales pitch."

Victor's smile didn't falter. "Join us."

For a second, the room held its breath.

Ethan's brow lifted. "Join you? You mean sell out."

Victor's head tilted. "That's such an amateur way to see it. Blackthorn recognizes talent. Real talent. You built something disruptive, something valuable. And we admire that."

Ethan's voice was flat. "Admire it so much you tried to burn it down."

Victor shrugged. "That wasn't us. That was Meditech panicking. We… operate on a different level. We're not here to destroy you. We're here to offer you scale—global partnerships, regulatory immunity, capital beyond imagination."

Ryan's scoff broke the silence. "And the catch?"

Victor leaned in, voice low. "Alignment. Loyalty. Your vision becomes our vision. Your innovation fuels our machine. You don't just compete anymore—you become part of the system that decides who wins."

Ethan exhaled, eyes narrowing. "And if I say no?"

Victor sighed, fingers drumming the table. "I'd rather not waste energy on unpleasant scenarios. Let's just say… Blackthorn has a long history of ensuring non-aligned entities become non-entities."

Selena's eyes flicked toward Ethan, tension building in the silence.

Ethan held Victor's gaze, unblinking. "I'll think about it."

Victor stood, smoothing his suit like they'd just concluded a friendly lunch. "Do. But don't take too long. History forgets those who hesitate."

The door shut behind him, leaving the room heavier than before.

Selena spun toward Ethan, voice sharp. "You're not actually considering this, right?"

Ethan's jaw clenched. "No. But now we know exactly what we're dealing with."

Ryan's voice was grim. "If they can't buy you, they'll bury you."

Ethan nodded, eyes fixed on the black folder Victor left behind.

"Then we make sure they regret ever digging this grave."

At noon, the public beta launched.

Thousands poured into the platform—patients, doctors, researchers. Within minutes, feedback rolled in, positive and relentless. The world was watching.

But Ethan barely registered it.

Because this wasn't about a product anymore.

It was about power—who controls it, who surrenders to it… and who's willing to burn the system down rather than play along.

Ethan Cross had made his choice.

And Blackthorn Holdings had just made their first—and biggest—mistake.

They gave him a target.