The man paused, looking at her cold, impassive face.
The air seemed to congeal into a stagnant pool of silence.
After their eyes met for a few seconds, Noreen looked away and walked straight down the steps, brushing past Seth.
A few restless gusts of wind swept by.
Noreen got into her car and left.
Seth stood there a moment longer before rigidly turning his eyes away.
Once in the car, Noreen called Wade Harcourt to ask about his car ident.
Wade exined that he had something to take care of that day and had postponed his hospital check-up. He''d only sent his driver to pick up his medication, which was how he had unexpectedly avoided the crash.
Noreen let out a sigh of relief.
It was truly a blessing in disguise.
The two chatted for a bit longer.
Wade was mainly asking if she had set a date for the IPO bell-ringing ceremony.
Noreen said she had. "Next Wednesday."
Wade did the math. "Isn''t that your birthday?"
Noreen was surprised that Wade remembered her birthday.
"I chose that day on purpose," Noreen admitted.
Wade thought it was a meaningful choice and asked, "So, what are your birthday wishes this year?"
The question actually stumped Noreen.
Birthday wishes...
For the past seven years, she had made the same two wishes every year.
She wished for her mother to live a long, healthy life.
And she wished for Seth to get everything he ever wanted.
It was the same, year after year.
This year, it was finally time for a change.
This year, she would wish for her own desires to be fulfilled.
Noreen thought to herself.
...
Noreen left for Harborview City the day before the IPO ceremony.
On the morning of her departure, she gave an exclusive interview to a business news channel.
The reporter specifically mentioned
how InnoCore had used its Eagle
Eye model to identify over twenty risk factors for PerseTech before its
Он
IPO.
At the time, everyone had dismissed it as an unreliable prediction, possibly even motivated by a personal grudge.
After all, Winrich had always been at odds with PerseTech.
But no one expected InnoCore''s prediction toe true.
As the calcted risks materialized one by one, InnoCore gained unprecedented hype and attention.
Its market valuation skyrocketed, heading straight for the 500 billion mark.
It became the most promising stock
in the industry, with countless investors eagerly waiting for Noreen to ring the bell so they could buy InnoCore shares at the first O
opportunity.
Of course, the release of The Chronos Gallery''s second concept game had also
ignited another cultural phenomenon in the industry.
Its influence even spilled out of the gaming world, affecting sectors like culture,
tourism, technology, and even international rtions.
Its market value had also soared, surpassing 100 billion.
The business channel had put a lot of effort into securing this exclusive interview.
Lately, their ratings had been climbing thanks to two major news stories.
One was reporting on Noreen''s path to sess.
The other was closely following Bianca Lowell''s case, urging the
relevant authorities to release
investigation findings as soon possible.
as
Lillian Laurent had waited outside Winrich Tower for nearly two hours, witnessing Noreen''s sess firsthand.
In that moment, she was both envious and jealous.
But she could only swallow those emotions and humblye to Noreen for help.
The harsh reality, however, was that she couldn''t even get into the Winrich building, so she could only wait downstairs.
At the main entrance, a reporter was filming shots of Winrich Tower.
The massive screen on the building was ying promotional videos for InnoCore and The Chronos Gallery on a loop.
That had once been the golden path Bianca dreamed of walking.
But now, all they could do was look up at Noreen.
After finishing her interview, Noreen came downstairs with her secretary and bodyguards, ready to head to the airport.
Just as she stepped out of the main entrance, Lillian shot out from a corner like a madwoman.