Chapter 55: The Meeting Between Rivals

The private conference room was deliberately plain. No company logos decorated the walls, and neither side had chosen the location. Ethan Hale arrived with his longtime adviser, Noah Grant, while Louis brought Derek. For several seconds, the four men simply looked at one another across the table.

Ethan broke the silence. "I didn't invite you here to apologize." Louis sat down. "Good. I didn't come to hear one." Derek and Noah exchanged the tired look of men accustomed to managing difficult employers.

Ethan opened a folder. "Serena told me about her conversation with Freya. I reviewed several intelligence reports we received during the last year. Some of them were accurate. Some weren't."

Louis placed his own documents on the table. "We found the same pattern from the other direction."

They began comparing dates. The first hour was tense, with both men questioning the other's records and refusing to reveal anything unnecessary. Gradually, however, the pattern became impossible to dismiss. Information had repeatedly reached each company at exactly the right moment to provoke a response.

One report claimed Louis intended to seize a supplier Ethan depended on. Another suggested Ethan was secretly approaching a Stone Holdings executive. Several tips were technically based on real discussions but distorted enough to make harmless possibilities appear like active threats.

"Someone understood both companies," Noah said. "Not perfectly, but well enough to predict how you'd react."

Derek added, "And they knew neither of you would call the other to verify anything."

Ethan looked at Louis. "We weren't exactly friends." "We still aren't." "Good to know."

Despite the hostility, they continued working.

When Victor Shaw's name appeared, Ethan's expression changed slightly. "I've met him." Louis noticed. "When?"

"Twice before your collapse. He approached one of our directors at an industry event. Nothing unusual at the time." Ethan turned toward Noah. "Find the records."

Noah searched archived schedules and confirmed Victor had attended both events shortly before anonymous information reached Hale Corporation.

That wasn't proof, but it strengthened the connection.

After nearly three hours, they agreed to exchange a limited set of historical records through Derek and Noah. Neither side would reveal current strategy, investors, or active projects. The cooperation existed only to identify whoever had manipulated the conflict.

As they stood to leave, Ethan said, "For what it's worth, Serena likes Freya."

Louis's expression immediately became guarded. "Why is that relevant?"

"It isn't. I just find it strange." Ethan's mouth curved faintly. "Your wife used to leave events whenever Serena entered the room."

Louis didn't answer.

He returned home shortly after seven. Freya was in the kitchen, wearing an apron and arguing with a pan. She looked over her shoulder. "You're alive. Did you behave?"

"Mostly."

"That sounds suspicious."

Louis removed his coat. "We agreed to exchange records."

Freya smiled with satisfaction. "See? Communication."

"Don't say character development."

She froze, then slowly turned toward him. "How did you know I was going to say that?"

Louis realized his mistake a second too late. "You've said it before."

Freya narrowed her eyes but was distracted when something in the pan began burning. Louis quietly exhaled. His secret identity as L had survived another day—barely.

Later that night, Freya briefly wondered why Louis's wording had sounded so familiar. She opened L's latest comments, stared at them, then shook her head and closed the app. The idea forming in her mind seemed ridiculous. Still, once a writer noticed a possible connection, ignoring it was almost impossible. By morning, curiosity had already begun turning into an investigation.