Chapter 2 - The Algorithm of Loss
The next morning, the board room at Vance Analytics was a hive of nervous energy. The stock was up three percent, a new merger was on the table, and the legal team was ready to finalize the acquisition of a European tech rival. Julian sat at the head of the long oak table, staring blankly at the digital projection on the glass wall.
"Julian? Are we cleared to proceed with the wire transfer?" his CFO asked, leaning forward.
Julian blinked, the numbers on the screen looking like absolute gibberish. "What?"
"The transfer. For the acquisition."
"Cancel it," Julian said, his voice completely hollow.
The room erupted into a chaotic chorus of objections. Millions of dollars were on the line. Julian stood up, ignoring them all, and walked out of the glass-walled room. He didn't care about the merger. He didn't care about the European market. He walked straight into his private office, locked the door, and picked up his desk phone.
He called Marcus Thorne, a private investigator known for finding people who did not want to be found.
"I need you to find my wife," Julian said the moment Marcus answered.
"Clara? I saw you two at the charity gala last month. Is she missing?"
"She left," Julian said, the words tasting like ash in his mouth. "Find her. I don't care what it costs. Put every satellite, every digital footprint tracker, every resource you have on it. I need a location by tonight."
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"Julian, if she doesn't want to be found—"
"Tonight, Marcus." Julian hung up. He leaned against the reinforced glass of his office window, looking down at the sprawling city of San Francisco. He owned a piece of almost everything he could see, but he had never felt so entirely bankrupt.
