Rain tapped gently on the windows of the Venice Beach estate as Kim sat by the fire, Valen’s voice still echoing in her ears from the night before. George paced nearby, arms folded tightly.
Monica entered the room with a manila envelope, her face tight. "I did a background check on Valen. He's not in any corporate database. But I found something odd. His name appears in military intelligence documents from over twenty years ago under a codename: Octavian."
Kim’s eyes widened. "Octavian? But I thought he was just a myth."
"He’s not," Monica said. "Octavian was rumored to be a top-level strategist for global manipulation programs. Some say he operated a psychological influence network across media and music platforms, shaping opinions, toppling reputations, and controlling fame."
George
