The frenzy hadn't slowed.
Two days after the Eversage samples hit the salon, the city was still buzzing. Videos of glowing hands and stunned faces had gone viral. Resellers on the black market were auctioning off half-used jars for triple the price of gold. Influencers were calling it "the closest thing to magic science has ever made."
Jason sat in his office, flipping through a stack of clippings and screenshots Daisy had gathered. Every headline screamed the same thing: "Eversage Breaks the Market."
Outside the glass walls, his people were buried in calls. Hendricks barked into his headset, trying to juggle offers from distributors, while Natalie scribbled furiously on a whiteboard filled with names of salons, clinics, and luxury shops. Maya's fingers flew across her tablet as she monitored the growing wildfire online. Even the former owner of Eversage, usually stoic, looked overwhelmed by the scale of the demand.
Jason watched it all in silence. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he closed the folder and rose.
"Enough."
The single word cut through the noise. Everyone stopped, turning toward him.
"We've proven the market will chase us," Jason said evenly. "But chasing hype isn't enough. If all we do is feed the frenzy, we'll burn out."
Natalie frowned. "So what's the next step?"
Jason let the silence hang before answering. "We lay the first stone."
The café was small. Family-owned, tucked into the corner of a bustling district, its cracked wooden signboard barely holding together. From the outside, it didn't look like the kind of place that could change anything.
But Jason saw differently.
Inside, the aroma of roasted beans lingered in the air, mingling with faint chatter from loyal regulars. The owner, an older man with tired eyes and calloused hands, wiped down tables with a rag that had seen better days. His daughter worked the register, smiling faintly despite the weariness in her movements.
Jason stood near the counter, Hendricks and Daisy flanking him. Maya and Natalie had taken a table by the window, pretending to be customers while they observed.
The owner approached, polite but wary. "Coffee?"
Jason smiled faintly. "Not today. I came to talk business."
The man's eyes narrowed immediately. "You one of those buyers? We've had enough offers. The answer's no."
Jason tilted his head. "And yet, you're drowning. The repairs you can't afford. The suppliers squeezing you. Competitors circling like vultures. It won't be long before this place is gone."
The owner stiffened. Hendricks shot Jason a sharp look, but Jason didn't soften his tone.
"I'm not here to buy you out," Jason continued calmly. "I'm here to keep this place alive."
The man snorted. "Why would a stranger care?"
Jason's smile curved. "Because the city needs places like this. And because I know talent when I see it."
He slid a folder across the counter. Inside were financial projections, supplier connections, and renovation plans. Daisy had spent the night compiling the data, Hendricks double-checking every number.
The owner flipped through it, his suspicion clear. "This looks too good to be real."
"It isn't charity," Jason said. "You'll take our investment, and in return, we'll take a percentage of your profits. You keep your name, your recipes, your identity. We stay in the shadows. All you have to do is survive—and thrive."
The man hesitated, torn between distrust and desperation.
Then the bell over the door jingled.
Another man walked in—slick suit, sharp eyes. He glanced at Jason briefly before striding up to the counter.
"You must be Mr. Liang," the suited man said smoothly to the owner. "My offer still stands. Sell me the café, and I'll pay double market value. You'll retire comfortably, and your daughter won't have to work herself to the bone."
Jason's eyes flicked to Daisy, who was already watching closely.
The owner stiffened, looking between them.
Jason stepped forward. His voice was calm, but it carried weight. "He'll pay you once. Then the café disappears, swallowed by a chain that doesn't care about your name or your daughter. Take his deal, and your story ends here."
He leaned in, his eyes steady. "Take mine, and your story becomes part of something greater."
The suited man scoffed. "Who the hell are you to make promises like that?"
Jason smiled faintly. "The difference between us? You're offering an exit. I'm offering a future."
The silence stretched. The owner's daughter stepped closer, touching her father's arm. "Dad… I don't want to sell. Not to them. This place is home."
The old man's shoulders slumped. He looked down at the folder again, then at Jason. His voice was low, hesitant, but firm. "If I agree… I never see you again? You stay in the shadows?"
Jason nodded once. "That's the deal."
The suited man tried again, but the owner cut him off with a shake of his head. "Get out. I've made my choice."
Fury twisted across the rival's face, but Jason's quiet stare made him think twice about pushing further. He left with a slam of the door.
Jason turned back to the owner. "You won't regret this."
The man didn't answer, but his daughter gave a small, grateful nod.
Back at the office, the team gathered around the table. The folder now bore a single signature—Mr. Liang's.
Natalie whistled. "I'll be honest, I thought you were crazy. But seeing that family's faces? It felt… right."
Hendricks grunted. "Still risky. But less stupid than I thought."
Maya smirked. "That's Hendricks-speak for approval."
Daisy leaned back in her chair, studying Jason. "So this is how it starts. One stone."
Jason nodded. "One stone at a time. Quietly. Carefully. Until the city is ours, piece by piece."
For the first time, none of them argued.
Jason looked at them—at Daisy's steady pragmatism, Natalie's ambition, Hendricks' begrudging loyalty, Maya's sharp wit—and something unfamiliar tugged at his chest.
Trust.
He wasn't building this alone anymore.
That night, Jason stood by his window, the city lights glowing below. The frenzy over Eversage still raged, but he wasn't thinking about skincare anymore. He was thinking about foundations—of empires, of loyalty, of futures quietly shaped in the dark.
The first stone had been laid.
And from here, the city would never be the same.