NOVPUBA new day came!
Many months had passed since the madness of Ryan Anders and Gillian Henderson. The year of 2010 was over and the new year, 2011 was in its third month.
March. It opened like a revelation.
People went about their separate duties, cars honked, coffees were poured and the air was filled with murmurs of conversation. 𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙥𝒖𝒃.𝒄𝒐𝒎
And then, out of nowhere, it came.
There was no warning. No slow climb. Just impact.
The markets hadn't even fully opened when it happened. Bitcoin...
surged.
It rocketed to an unbelievable $6.00 per coin, after starting the year under a dollar. Now, it was the headline across every ticker in the country.
As usual, CryptoTracker always turned to a frenzy whenever this happened. The home page was in chaos. Reactions piled in by the second.
@DigitalDon: "I'm not crying. YOU'RE crying. $6.00?!?"
@DucklingFan89: "Mr. Duckling did it again. He made the most profit didn't he?!"
@BlockBillionaire: "Fuck. I followed ScottishPanda again and I missed this rise."
@SleeplessSatoshi: "70 thousand fucking dollars! Woohoo! Anyone wants to buy?!"
For Business Everyday, they were up to their usual antics.
Their anchors wore tight smiles as they read the news, trying to keep composure while the rest of the financial world went into freefall excitement.
"Yes, Bitcoin is seeing an unprecedented price movement," said Gregory Niles, who had taken Brooklyn's position, had a taut voice. "But we caution viewers: speculative assets like this are prone to collapse. We've been saying it all the time. Digital currency is still far from being a trustworthy financial instrument."
"Very volatile, I tell you, Niles," his co-anchor chimed in. "Highly vulnerable to manipulation. We're not recommending it for long-term portfolios."
And yet the screen behind them kept screaming:
BTC: $6.00 | +622% YTD
Since she was free from the chains of Business Everyday, Brooklyn could say whatever she wanted to say. So, in her magazine special, Brooklyn Exclusive, she did not mince words.
"Bitcoin has just made its biggest leap in history," she said with a spark in her voice. "But let us not forget the man who predicted this? Who mined it, who scaled it, and who held while the world mocked him?"
"Darren Steele. Love him or hate him— and it seems everyone seems to love him now. He's not just ahead of the curve. At this point, he is the curve and anyone would be stupid to underestimate him."
She went on with the potential of cryptocurrency and the government's actions to try to cut it down.
A reader of the magazine closed the paper and continued storming through an executive corridor.
Rachel Teschmacher was as excited as a baby with ice cream. Her heels clacked urgently across the polished floors as she made her way, hair dark hair bouncing.
She wore a silk red blouse tucked neatly into a high-waisted black skirt. Her hair covered one of her eyes as usual, and her lips were cherry red— sharp, precise, like the rest of her.
She clutched a file to her chest, heart racing. This was it. They'd done it. Over $280,000 in holdings overnight. Her hands trembled with adrenaline.
Because of how excited she was, she had forgotten to knock.
She pushed the door open. "Sir! Bitcoin just experienced its biggest rise ev—"
Then she froze.
The file slipped in her grip.
Darren was seated on the couch. Shirtless. Calm. Cold. A woman pulled her face from his cock and stared at her.
Rachel recognized her. She was Harper Bell, the former security officer who had betrayed them. Her skin was flushed, lips swollen, and
her mascara had smeared her face.
Rachel's world paused.
Harper's eyes were surprised and worried, but Darren didn't even flinch. He stood, pushing Harper aside with disinterest.
His eyes locked with Rachel as he approached her.
"Rachel," he said. "Have you forgotten how to knock?"
Rachel blinked rapidly, scrambling to find her voice. "I— I was excited, I— It slipped my mind."
She swallowed. "Bitcoin hit six dollars. We're up hundreds of thousands in value. It's… it's everywhere."
Darren's tone didn't shift. "I know."
He picked up his watch from the table. "I'll meet you downstairs shortly."
Rachel nodded. Quiet. Her cheeks pale. And she walked out with trembling steps, closing the door softly behind her.
In the meeting room, chatter filled the air.
Kara was at the head of the display screen, projecting stats. Amelia, Sandy, Miranda, and Simon Wilkes were seated around the table. The excitement was thick.
"I just can't believe it! Last month, we were sitting on sixty thousand," Kara grinned. "This morning? Twenty-nine thousand, seven hundred and eighty BTC valued at over two hundred and eighty grand."
Sandy smiled, resting her head on the chair. "And I don't think Darren would sell yet. He knows exactly where this is going. It's sure to spike even higher, right?"
Simon leaned forward, adjusting his glasses. "The halving calculations— my God— they've held. Even the flow model is consistent. I ran the block interval curve three times this week. It shouldn't be happening this fast, and yet... it is."
Amelia sipped her coffee, smirking. "The world's just catching up to what boss has known for months."
Then Kara paused, glancing at Rachel who had entered without saying a word.
"You're quiet. What's wrong? Wasn't Darren surprised when you told him? Excited?"
Rachel's fingers curled around her cup. Her voice was soft.
"I think… I was the one who was surprised."
"Huh?" Kara raised a brow.
Then the door opened and Darren entered.
Instantly, the room fell silent. The temperature shifted and conversations died. Chairs scraped as everyone straightened up and took their seats.
He walked to the front with slow, deliberate steps, eyes sharp but distant.
It had been like this since the turn of the year. Darren had changed.
He was still brilliant, still relentless— but the warmth was gone. No jokes. No personal comments. No offhand glances. He barely saw them as people anymore. Only as roles. Units in motion.
They felt it every day.
And no one dared say it aloud.
He stood at the head of the table, fingers resting on the edge as he looked at them.
But before he could say anything, everyone's phones began to ding.
A wave of notifications rolled through the room.
Rachel checked hers first. Her face stiffened.
"It's an emergency bulletin," she said, reading aloud. "From State Business Authority and Regional Trade Regulation Newswire."
She paused, voice suddenly thinner.
"Due to the involvement of a key Moon Enterprises subsidiary in a criminal operation, and the ensuing investigations affecting financial networks and legal allies, compounded by the controversy surrounding his son…"
"...the richest man in the state is returning to Los Alverez."
Everyone froze.
Rachel looked up.
"Archibald Mooney is coming back."
