CHAPTER: 14
The war had a face now.
And it wasn’t Olivia.
Sophia stood at the far end of Ethan’s office, staring at the printed acquisition reports spread across the glass table. The numbers were clean. Layered. Sophisticated.
Blackridge Capital.
Nine percent ownership — accumulated slowly over six years.
Not random purchases.
Not speculative investments.
Strategic positioning.
“They started buying two weeks after I left,” Sophia said quietly.
Ethan didn’t deny it.
“Yes.”
“And no one noticed?”
“They noticed,” he replied calmly. “But they didn’t understand what they were looking at.”
Because Blackridge never bought loudly. They didn’t announce intent. They didn’t demand seats.
They waited.
“They were preparing for a leadership fracture,” Sophia said.
“Yes.”
“And they got o
