Chapter 110
Chapter 110:
“Get me the CEO of Oracle,” Liam ordered. “Now p>
“Sir, we don’t have a direct line,” Lee stammered. “They operate through shell companies. The contact listed is just a general counsel p>
“I don’t care if you have to call the Pope,” Liam roared, slamming his hand down again. “Find a number. I want to speak to the person who is trying to bleed me dry p>
Lee scrambled, tapping furiously on his device. A moment later, a ringing sound filled the tense silence of the office. Lee walked forward and placed the phone on the desk, switching it to speaker.
“I’ve bypassed the automated switchboard, sir. I’m routing the call through the emergency legal override frequency listed in their public filing. It’s a long shot, but p>
The line clicked.
It didn’t go to a receptionist. It didn’t go to voicemail. The connection was crisp, immediate, and eerily silent, as if someone had been waiting for this exact frequency to light up.
On the other side of the city, in a glass-walled office that seemed to float above the smog, a phone began to blink. Skye Sterling spun her chair around. She looked at the caller ID: Kensington Global. A small, cold smile touched her lips.
She had been expecting this call for three days. She had specifically programmed the routing system to divert any calls from Kensington’s IP address directly to her private line.
She reached out, her fingers hovering over a small black box connected to her landline. It was a high-end voice modulator, the kind used by witness protection programs. She flipped the switch.
She picked up the receiver.
“Oracle Holdings, Executive Office,” Skye said.
Her voice emerged from the speaker in Liam’s office not as her own melodic tone, but as a clipped, slightly digitized, androgynous voice. “This is the assistant to Mr. Morgan p>
Liam leaned over the phone, his jaw set hard.
𝘛𝘩𝗶𝘀 ѕ𝘵𝘰ry 𝖻𝗲lо𝗇𝗴s t𝘰 𝖻𝗲𝘭𝗇𝘰𝘷е𝗅𝘀.𝗰𝗈𝗺
“This is Liam Kensington,” he barked. “Put Morgan on the line p>
Skye leaned back in her ergonomic chair, crossing her legs. She picked up a silver pen and twirled it between her fingers.
“Mr. Morgan is in a meeting,” she said, infusing the modulated voice with professional boredom. “He is not taking unsolicited calls from competitors p>
“Competitors?” Liam let out a harsh laugh. “He’s not a competitor; he’s a thief. Tell him I know about the shell companies. Tell him if he doesn’t release the logistics contracts by noon, I will blacklist Oracle from every shipping lane on the East Coast p>
Skye didn’t flinch. She looked out the window at the skyline, spotting the distant silhouette of the Kensington tower. It looked smaller from up here.
“Mr. Kensington,” she said, her voice smooth and detached, “threats are the currency of the desperate. Mr. Morgan asked me to convey a message should you call p>
Liam paused. The silence on the line stretched, heavy and suffocating.
“What message?” Liam gritted out.
“He said that the logistics contracts were secured weeks ago,” Skye said. “Through three separate entities you failed to vet because you were too busy playing the martyr in the hospital, recovering from your heroic stunt. While you were nursing your wounds, we were nursing your market share. The blacklist won’t work, Mr. Kensington. We own the list p>