I felt a cold anger burning in my chest. Thorne wasn't just threatening an energy collapse; he was now trying to take over Valerian from within. "And you refused?"
Lianna smiled faintly, a bitter smile. "Of course. I refused in front of all the regulators. I won't let them take what we built with so much sacrifice."
She then pointed to the screen. "I managed to prove that all the transactions they accused us of were legally flawed because they misinterpreted the post-Ouroboros regulations. We won technically. The regulators left empty-handed."
"That's good, Lianna. We're safe," I said, approaching her.
"Financially, yes, Cassian. But we're exhausted. Valerian is exhausted. I'm exhausted. We can't keep fighting on different fronts."
"I know," I said, reaching for her hand. "I need to t
