Adrian POV
The first alert arrives at 5:12 a.m.
Adrian is already awake.
Sleep has never been reliable. Not since childhood, not since boardrooms replaced classrooms, not since he learned that losing control happens in moments of inattention.
His phone vibrates once against the nightstand.
Encrypted channel.
Priority tag.
He reads the headline preview without opening the full report.
FINANCIAL COLUMNISTS QUESTION COLE SUCCESSION TIMELINE
His expression doesn’t change.
Of course they do.
Success invites curiosity. Power invites investigation. But timing determines intent, and this timing is precise enough to qualify as strategy.
He sits up, already awake in mind if not in posture. Lydia sleeps beside him, facing away, her breathing soft and uneven. For a brief moment, his attent
