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THE STARDUST FORTUNE Chapter 19: The Ex-Factor
The boardroom door burst open. Tyson Drake strode in, his signature smirk plastered across his face. The board meeting came to an abrupt halt."Sorry I'm late. Traffic was hell." He adjusted his Italian suit. "Don't stop on my account."Eleanor's knuckles turned white around her pen. "This is a private meeting.""Private?" Tyson pulled out his phone. "As a major shareholder, I believe I have every right to be here.""Major shareholder?" Alex leaned forward."Oh?" Tyson's smirk widened. "Eleanor didn't tell you? I've been quietly acquiring shares for months. Twenty-three percent, to be exact.""That's impossible," Eleanor snapped."Check the records, darling. I believe that earns me a seat at this table."Mr. Patterson, the head of the board, cleared his throat. "Perhaps we should take a brief recess-""No need." Tyson sat down directly opposite Eleanor. "Please, continue discussing the fascinating progress of Project Genesis. I'm particularly interested in the mortality rates."The ro
THE STARDUST FORTUNE Chapter 20: Forbidden Confidants
Luna's apartment buzzed with tension as Rebecca paced the living room."You're meeting him again?" Rebecca crossed her arms. "After everything that happened?""He's helping me understand these changes," Luna gestured to her faintly luminescent skin. "Nobody else knows what this is like.""What about me? I'm trying to understand, to help-""By checking my phone? By following me?"Rebecca flushed. "I saw the texts, Luna. 'Missing you.' 'Wish you were here.' Those aren't just friendly messages.""He's going through the same thing!""Is that why you dream about him?"Luna froze. "What?""You talk in your sleep. 'Alex, help me. Alex, I need you.'" Rebecca's voice cracked. "Do you have any idea what it's like hearing your girlfriend call someone else's name?""Becca, it's not like that-""Then what is it like?"Luna's phone buzzed. Alex's name flashed on the screen."Go," Rebecca said bitterly. "He's waiting.""Becca-""Just go!"Twenty minutes later, Luna sat across from Alex in their usua
THE STARDUST FORTUNE Chapter 21: Family Pride
"Are you sure about this, Alex?" His mother, Sarah, sat on the edge of her hospital bed, frail but determined. "The apartment-""Is no longer an issue." Alex helped her with her shoes. "Everything's taken care of.""But Mr. Peterson-""Won't be a problem anymore."The door opened, and Eleanor entered with a wheelchair. "The car's waiting.""Mrs. Conway," Mr. Peterson's voice boomed from the hallway. "I believe we have unfinished business."Alex stepped into the doorway, blocking his view. "Not now.""Three months of unpaid rent-""Which was used for my mother's treatment," Alex's voice was dangerously calm. "Treatment she needed because your building's faulty wiring caused the fire.""That's speculation-""No, that's fact." Alex pulled out his phone. "Just like the fact that your building failed its last six safety inspections. Would you like to see the reports?"Peterson's face reddened. "You can't prove-""Actually, I can. Along with the bribes you paid to keep it quiet." Alex smile
THE STARDUST FORTUNE Chapter 22: Mother Knows Best
"Keep your eyes closed, Mom." Alex guided Sarah through the doorway of the penthouse."Alex, all this mystery-""Just a few more steps." He positioned her in the center of the living room. "Okay... open them."Sarah's gasp echoed through the space. Floor-to-ceiling windows revealed the city skyline, designer furniture adorned every corner, and fresh flowers filled crystal vases."This is... this can't be...""Your new home." Alex squeezed her shoulders. "No more basement apartment. No more Mr. Peterson.""But how can we afford-""You let me worry about that." He led her to the kitchen. "Look, your own herb garden. Remember how you always wanted one?"Sarah touched the basil leaves gently. "Just like the one your father and I had before...""Before what?"She shook her head. "Nothing. Just old memories." Her fingers trembled slightly. "Alex, something feels... different.""Different how?""The air. The light. Everything's so..." She squinted. "Bright."The doorbell rang."That must be
THE STARDUST FORTUNE Chapter 23: Corporate Wars
"They're hitting us on all fronts." Eleanor's fingers flew across multiple screens in her office. "Tyson's not just attacking the company – he's going for everything."Alex burst through the door. "The board's in chaos. Johnson and Pierce already sold their shares.""To whom?""Shell companies. All leading back to-""Nexus Corporation," Tyson strode in, flanked by security guards. "Did you really think I wouldn't find out, Eleanor?""This is a private office-""Not anymore." He tossed a document onto her desk. "The board called an emergency meeting. You missed it, being so busy with your... special projects."Eleanor scanned the paper, her face paling. "They can't do this.""Sixty percent vote." Tyson smiled. "They just did.""Get out of my office.""Your office?" He laughed. "Check the letterhead, sweetheart. As of ten minutes ago, I'm the new interim CEO of Drake Industries."Alex's implant pulsed with rage. "This is about the transformation program, isn't it?""Among other things."
THE STARDUST FORTUNE Chapter 24: Dangerous Alliances
"Are you sure about this?" Luna's voice crackled through Alex's secure channel."The files have to be in his private server." Alex's fingers moved across the holographic interface. "Eleanor's keeping too many secrets.""Speaking of secrets..." Luna hesitated. "Rebecca found something. About Sarah.""My sister?""Your niece, technically. The security footage from the old lab – it wasn't just experiments.""What do you mean?""They were talking to something, Alex. Through her. Using her as a conduit."The elevator pinged. Alex ducked into a maintenance corridor."Tyson's coming," Luna warned. "Third floor.""How do you know?""Because he just invited me to lunch."Alex froze. "What?""Said he has a 'proposition' for me." Luna's laugh was bitter. "Guess my new abilities caught his attention.""Don't go.""Too late. I already said yes.""Luna-""We need answers, Alex. About all of it. The children, the merger, why some turn silver and others... don't."Alex touched his implant, feeling it
THE STARDUST FORTUNE Chapter 25: The Final Move
"It was never about the company." Tyson stood atop Drake Industries, his form shifting between solid and red light. "It was about this moment. This convergence."Alex and Eleanor emerged from the roof access, Luna between them."Then what was the point?" Alex's implant pulsed in sync with the chaos below. "The hostile takeover, the breeding program?""Distractions." Tyson spread his arms. "While we positioned the real pieces."The sky above them rippled with silver and red lights, two armies of transformed humans facing off."You used us," Eleanor stepped forward. "All of us.""No, Eleanor. You used yourself." Tyson's laugh echoed. "Did you think I didn't know about your deal with both sides? Playing silver against red, hoping to save your precious Sarah?""Mom?" Sarah's voice – both child and adult – echoed from everywhere. "What did you do?""I had to," Eleanor's voice cracked. "They said they could save you. Both sides promised-""Both sides lied." Luna's white light flared. "Show
THE STARDUST FORTUNE Chapter 26: Aftermath
"Her vitals are stable, but..." Rebecca stared at Luna's unconscious form in the med bay. "She's different now.""Different how?" Alex hadn't left Luna's side in three days."The merger changed everyone's transformation, but Luna... she's not just evolved. She's becoming something else."Luna's skin shimmered with faint traces of white light, pulsing like a heartbeat."Alex?" His mother's voice came from the doorway. Sarah Conway – the original, not Eleanor's daughter – looked troubled. "We need to talk.""I'm not leaving her.""It's about her. And what I found in the original Project Oracle files."That got his attention. "What files?""The ones Eleanor tried to destroy." She pulled up a holographic display. "The ones about the first contact.""Mom-""They didn't come to us, Alex. We called them." She showed him ancient cave paintings, all depicting white light. "Humanity has been reaching for this evolution for millennia. Luna didn't just merge the timelines – she completed a cycle.
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