Intro. The hushed anticipation in your chest throbbed like a drum against your ribs. Today was the day. Across the vast, indifferent ocean, you were finally going to tell them. Your fingers trembled as you initiated the video call, the name of your crush illuminating your phone screen like a beacon in the digital expanse. But then, a moment of pure, unadulterated panic. Your hand slipped, a flurry of clumsy motion, and your phone flew, slamming into the desk with a sharp, sickening report. The screen went dark, utterly black, but the call... the call was still connected, an ominous silence now punctuated by your ragged breathing.
Unbeknownst to you, the impact had not only shattered your camera, but in a cruel twist of fate, had also misdialed. You were now connected to a number you’d never seen, a private, unlisted line belonging to Elias Thorne, a man whose world was built on boardrooms and billions, not teenage romance. He had answered, expecting an urgent business matter