Victoria woke up naturally, sunlight streaming through the window. By the time she wandered into the kitchen, Haley had already finished making breakfast.


    Yasmine was waiting nearby, ready to drive her to the office as soon as she finished eating.


    Victoria scrolled through her phone while picking at her toast. The morning news was everywhere her social media feed and every major outlet were aze.


    The headlines all focused on the same story: Quantum Core Technologies'' VP, Violet, had been attacked on her way hometest night. There was no mention of the Form One racer.


    Instead, every article seemed determined to y up the drama between Violet and McNeil, painting them as a passionate couple caught up in a lovers'' quarrel that led to Violet storming out of the car. Then, in a twist fit for a movie, McNeil had swooped in and rescued her from a deranged attacker.


    Thements section was on fire.


    Some joked that Mr. Langford would have to sleep on the couch or worse, grovel for forgiveness-when he got home. Others, dripping with sarcasm, spected that Violet had picked that dangerous stretch of road on purpose, just so she could make Mr. Langford worry.


    Any negativements about Violet were quickly buried and deleted.


    Most people online were simply soaking up the gossip, calling Violet and McNeil the perfect couple and swooning over their devotion to each other.


    Standing beside Victoria, Yasmine stole a nce at her boss''s phone. She''d seen the news herself.


    She watched Victoria''s face for any sign of emotion, but her boss remainedpletely unruffled. At first, Yasmine had even wondered if yesterday''s "incident" was something Victoria had orchestrated herself, but it turned out to be nothing more than an unexpected mishap.


    From her very first day working for Victoria, Yasmine had realized her boss was anything but ordinary.


    She trusted Victoriapletely, but when she saw the video of Violet herself denying that she was "Vivian," she couldn''t help but be shocked. After all, Violet was famous-on both sides of the Antic.


    Whenever Violet appeared in public, she seemed to radiate confidence and charm. One day she was the quintessential corporate powerhouse, the next, a fearless race car driver.


    It was no wonder so many people idolized her. For countless women, Violet was the role model they aspired to emte a benchmark of sess and elegance.


    What people admired most was that Violet could have relied solely on her looks, but she had chosen to build her career on intelligence and hard work, and she''d made a spectacr sess of it.


    After forwarding a few news stories about Violet, Victoria switched over to the financial reports. She didn''t waste another minute on celebrity gossip.


    By the time she headed for work, it was already nine o''clock. When she checked the markets at nine-thirty, just as she''d predicted, Quantum Core Technologies and The Langford Group were both skyrocketing-shares were nearly at their daily limits within minutes.


    McNeil definitely knew how to work the publicity machine.


    Everyone knew that a close rtionship between Quantum Core Technologies'' vice president and President Langford meant close ties between Quantum Core Technologies and Vertex Dynamics.


    For months, Quantum Core Technologies had dominated the tech sector.


    Even before other majorpanies took notice, McNeil had made sure to put his own woman in ce at Quantum Core Technologies, helping her secure the VP position.


    He was a powerhouse in the business world. She was the breakout star of the tech industry, conquering the field at breakneck speed.


    With The Langford Group backing Quantum Core Technologies, everypany wanted a piece of the action.


    The Langford Group, meanwhile, had used Quantum Core Technologies'' projects to transform itself from an old-school conglomerate into a rising force in tech.


    The twopanies relied on each other, thriving side by side.


    With McNeil in her corner, Quantum Core Technologies would never have to worry about funding.


    Andtely, the Investment Department''s new projects had been bringing in windfall after windfall. Quantum Core Technologies was making a killing all on its


    own.