Countermeasures

The beta launch was a runaway success. Within hours, thousands of users flooded the platform, testing features, offering feedback, and praising the intuitive design. Investors' phones were ringing off the hook. Media outlets were already framing headlines about a breakthrough disruptor in digital health.

But Ethan barely felt any of it.

Because none of it mattered if Blackthorn got its way.

The countdown had begun the moment Victor Langley walked out of that room.

Ethan knew the rules had changed—this wasn't just a business fight anymore. This was survival.

In the conference room, the usual hum of excitement from launch day was absent. Selena, Ryan, Lisa, and Priya sat around the table, faces serious, waiting for Ethan to speak.

He stood at the head, fingers pressed to the table like he was bracing for an impact that hadn't hit yet—but would.

"We have two options." His voice was calm, but ice cold. "We either play along and let Blackthorn dictate our future… or we prepare for war."

Selena's smile was sharp, her eyes gleaming. "Let me guess—we're choosing war?"

Ethan nodded. "But not with brute force. Blackthorn doesn't attack head-on—they operate through proxies, legal loopholes, regulatory strangulation. We need to seal every crack before they can slip inside."

Ryan leaned forward, flipping open his laptop. "I've been mapping out their investment web. Blackthorn owns stakes in half the cybersecurity sector. If they want to breach us, they'll use tools they already control."

Lisa frowned, already jotting notes. "So we lock it down—double encryption, redundant firewalls, isolated subnets. I'll pull in outside auditors for a blind security sweep. If Blackthorn's got an inside angle, they won't see us coming."

Priya nodded firmly. "I'll rework the budget and prioritize every dollar for defensive infrastructure. Whatever it takes."

Selena's smirk was wicked. "And if they ditch the fancy corporate tricks and go full dark ops?"

Ethan's knuckles rapped the table softly, measured and deliberate. "Then we build leverage. Ryan, I need a full profile on Blackthorn's inner circle. Names, personal dirt, offshore accounts, internal disputes—everything. No detail is too small."

Ryan's grin stretched wide. "They built a kingdom in the shadows. Can't wait to show them how thin the walls really are."

Lisa adjusted her glasses. "And what about Meditech? They're still gunning for us too."

Ethan exhaled slowly. "One fight at a time. If we cut off Blackthorn's hand, Meditech will lose its puppet strings."

The office emptied out, but Ethan stayed behind, the glow of his screen the only light left.

Ryan's early findings flickered across his monitor—shell companies Blackthorn used to mask sensitive deals, shadow contracts in developing nations, a rumored internal power struggle between their Board and a rogue faction inside their research arm.

Cracks in the armor.

It wasn't enough to hit them yet, but it was enough to know they could bleed.

Ethan's phone buzzed, the sound unnaturally loud in the quiet room.

Unknown Number:

You don't want to make an enemy of us, Mr. Cross.

Ethan stared at the message, his grip tightening until his knuckles ached.

Too late.

He tossed the phone onto his desk, jaw set like stone.

If Blackthorn wanted war, they were about to find out—Ethan Cross didn't lose wars.

He buried the people who started them.