Location: Everline Corporate Tower, Central OurelliaTime: One day after Liam's viral comeback
Kara Vale stood at the window of her 61st-floor office, overlooking the skyline of Cyndral, Ourellia's capital. The city pulsed with commerce, fame, and curated chaos. She liked it that way.
The article had been planted. The old track had been unearthed from their "Vault." The burner artist paid. The social bots deployed.
Everything had gone… almost according to plan.
But she hadn't expected that response from Liam.
She'd watched the video twice. No fear in his eyes. No hesitation in his voice. Just the kind of raw authenticity the industry hadn't bottled yet.
"He's dangerous," she murmured.
Not because he was reckless. But because he was controlled in his rebellion.
Controlled rebels were the hardest to break.
She turned to her assistant, a soft-spoken genius named Rhys.
"Get me the numbers. Did his stream count drop?"
Rhys tapped his tablet. "Actually, ma'am… it went up. 3.7 million on Chainless. And… the underground scene in Velmora is rallying behind him."
Kara narrowed her eyes.
"He's sparking something bigger."
Rhys nodded. "They're calling him the Uncrowned Creative."
She tapped her polished nails on the edge of her glass desk.
"Let him have his little war," she said coldly. "He'll either burn out… or become expensive."
Then she looked out the window again.
And if he becomes expensive… we buy him anyway.
The End of POV