The acquisition of Daejong Telecom not merely a corporate transaction; it a preemptive strike against the newly reorganized Sterling Group, a monumental act of war against its patriarch, Arthur Sterling.
The plan hatched over cold synthetic coffee the glow of proprietary market data streams. Eliza Julian a study in synchronized calculation: Eliza, the relentless data historian, Julian, the decisive architect of financial force. "Arthur Sterling currently diverting every liquid asset he can to defend the remaining Sterling subsidiaries," Julian summarized, circling a series of figures on the large screen detailing the Sterling Group's cash flow. "He won't have the capital to launch a major acquisition for at least six months. But we know he will come for Daejong Telecom. That political leverage too important to his future survival."
"We can't just outbid him later," Eliza argued, tracing the future timeline on her tablet. "In 2018, Arthur successfully used Daejong's political clout to delay two major market reforms that would have crippled his overseas holdings. If he gets that power, he buys time. Time means danger for us." Julian nodded. "Speed our only defense. We launch a hostile takeover bid immediately, before Daejong's board even realizes they a target. What future vulnerability can we exploit to secure a quick sale? Daejong currently profitable; why would they sell now?"
Eliza leaned in, tapping a very specific date on the screen: February 14, 2017. "The Financial Infrastructure Regulatory Act of 2017. Daejong Telecom suffered a massive undisclosed $300 million fine for data privacy violations that year. They tried to hide it, but the fine crippled their cash reserves for months. In our current timeline—2013—they don't know the fine coming, but their internal audit team aware of the regulatory weakness." "Perfect," Julian's eyes gleamed. "We don't need to pay full market price. We structure our offer to include a contingency clause based on regulatory risk, using your future knowledge to justify a deep discount. We offer to purchase the majority stake now, absorbing the unknown risk, saving them from the future financial pain." The move daring. It a hostile takeover disguised as a rescue package, leveraging a future disaster only two people in the world knew about.
*The Two-Day Siege*
The attack launched the next morning. Julian's reputation alone—the CEO of Titan Investments publicly marrying the woman who instantly exposed the Sterling Group's crimes—enough to send shockwaves through the market. When Titan's offer to acquire the majority stake in Daejong Telecom hit the wire, the board thrown into disarray.
Julian Eliza spent forty-eight hours in a strategic marathon. Eliza provided the precise details of Daejong's internal legal exposure the names of the board members who were most sensitive to regulatory liability. Julian, using this information, tailored the messaging: Titan would stabilize Daejong against future government scrutiny. The move successfully panicked Daejong's board, it did exactly what they predicted—it flushed out Arthur Sterling.
At the beginning of the second day, Arthur Sterling, operating through a series of shell companies controlled by his last loyalists, launched a massive counter-bid. The price soared, fueled by Arthur's desperation to secure the future political shield he needed. "He using every last asset he can liquidate," Julian noted, watching Arthur's bidding patterns. "He running on pure terror now. He knows we deliberately cutting off his future power supply."
"He bidding emotionally," Eliza observed, her finger tracing the lines of Arthur's cash reserves. "He'll overpay, Julian. He predictable. We need to strike the final blow where it hurts his reputation, not just his wallet." Julian nodded, accessing his inner reserves of future knowledge. "Arthur Sterling's personal reputation built on maintaining a clean distance from government lobbying. In 2019, he secretly purchased shares in a defense contractor known for bribery. He has a weakness for clandestine political power."
They shifted their strategy. Instead of raising the cash price, Julian sent a private non-monetary ultimatum to Daejong's chairman. The message, dictated by Julian with Eliza's confirmation of its strategic accuracy, simple: Titan Investments will guarantee not only to mitigate all future FIRA regulatory fines but will also shield Daejong from a future hostile bid by a major South American defense contractor set to surface in 2015. This the masterstroke. The defense contractor's hostile bid something that happened in Eliza's original 2015 timeline, but the public knew nothing of it now. Julian's message proved he had access to non-public future information, making him look less like a bidder more like a prophet. The chairman, terrified by Julian's apparent precognition, ignored Arthur Sterling's cash bid. Daejong Telecom sold to Titan Investments in a swift devastating exchange. The acquisition announced minutes later. It wasn't just a win; it a humiliating public defeat for Arthur Sterling.
*The Price of Victory*
The financial world exploded. The Sterling Group, already reeling from the FCOB investigation, now completely isolated, its future political maneuvers neutralized. Arthur Sterling's frantic defense cost him millions in unnecessary bidding, confirming to the market that he compromised desperate. Eliza felt a rush of professional satisfaction—a feeling that been the primary reward in her previous life. But the euphoria short-lived.
"Arthur cornered now," Eliza stated, leaning against the cold glass. "He won't attack Titan; he will attack the legal structure of our marriage. He will look for any loophole to dissolve the 'unstable' wife's claim to the Seo name." Julian, already back on his phone, confirmed the severity of the blow. "His legal team just issued a statement. They filing suit to annul our marriage on the grounds of duress fraud. They will try to prove you lied about the Sterling Group's fraud to coerce the proposal. We anticipated this, but we need to stay ahead of his lawyers."
"And Vicki?" Eliza asked, needing the confirmation, needing the moral justification for the destruction they had wrought. Julian's expression hardened. He accessed a report from his security detail, which discreetly monitoring the Seraphim Clinic. "Vicki still at the clinic. The initial brain scan inconclusive for the general medical staff—they treating it as a severe unconfirmed neurological issue, likely stress-induced. But she confined. She too weak to fight, her father's power gone. She fully contained within the fate zone."
Eliza took a slow deep breath, the cold weight of the fate swap settling over her once more. Her rival safe from the world, but not from the destiny Eliza had escaped. "We need to focus on securing the legal shield of our marriage, Julian," Eliza decided. "Arthur Sterling will hire the best lawyers money can buy. What did his team try to use against you in the future? What was the fatal flaw in Titan's defenses that we can correct now?"
Julian looked at her, his gaze intense. "They targeted a weakness in my character, Eliza. They tried to expose the fact that the Julian Seo of the future known to have a hidden identity a very specific past. An identity that involved a partner." "Your life before the death, before the time-travel?" Eliza clarified. "Yes," Julian confirmed, his voice grave. "In 2017, a former colleague from my previous life—the life where I was a law enforcement agent—tried to expose me. If that identity leaked now, the corporate world will question my mental stability, Arthur's annulment suit gains traction. We need to find Agent Kyung before he recognizes me." The complexity of their interwoven pasts just opened a terrifying new front. The next threat wasn't a corporate document or a desperate cousin—it a ghost from Julian's former life, a man who could expose the ultimate secret: that they both living dead.