Chapter 143: HQ Established!

Fastine stood frozen at the head of the boardroom table, the total, suffocating reality of her defeat crashing down on her like a physical blow. Her shoulders slumped, the sharp, arrogant posture she had maintained for years completely breaking.

"You won..." Fastine whispered, her voice barely a thread as she stared at the floor, unable to meet my eyes. "You took everything."

"I took what you didn’t deserve to hold," I corrected smoothly, standing up and buttoning my tailored suit jacket.

I looked around the room at the sweat-drenched, silent board members. "Good. Since there are no objections, Quin Records is officially mine."

I turned on my heel and walked toward the heavy double doors, Chloe stepping into stride right beside me. Just as my hand touched the handle, I paused, turning my head back slightly toward the table.

"Are you not coming?" I asked casually.

For a second, Fastine thought I was talking to her, her eyes flashing with a desperate flicker of hope. But then her personal assistant stepped smoothly out from behind her chair.

With absolute, chilling calm, the assistant pulled the sleek black folder from her arm, walked over to Fastine, and dropped her formal resignation letter right onto the polished mahogany desk in front of her former boss.

"What is this?!" Fastine gasped, her voice cracking as she stared at the document, then up at her assistant in utter betrayal. "Sarah—after everything I’ve done for you?!"

"Sarah!" Fastine called out desperately, reaching a trembling hand toward her. "You can’t leave me now! Sarah!"

The assistant stopped, turning her head back just enough to look down at Fastine with cold, unbothered eyes.

"I only answer to Mr. Ethan now," she said flatly.

Without another word, she turned her back on Fastine’s quiet, desperate protests and walked straight over to join Chloe and me.

The heavy boardroom doors clicked shut behind us, cutting off the suffocating silence of the 14th floor as we stepped into the private executive elevator. Fastine Hope was left sitting alone in the ruins of her former empire, surrounded by a powerless board, facing a mountain of debt, and holding a resignation letter from the only person who kept her world running.

As the glass elevator descended smoothly down the side of the skyscraper, revealing the bustling city below, my new chief PA tapped her tablet, pulling up our schedule.

"The $1 billion capital transfer is ready for your final authorization, sir," she reported, her tone crisp and entirely professional. "And the downtown luxury real estate broker is waiting on line one to confirm your private tour of the top-floor corporate penthouse."

I looked out at the skyline, a cold, satisfied smirk settling across my face.

"Tell them we’re on our way," I murmured. "It’s time to put my name on the building."

The executive convoy pulled up directly in front of the city’s newest, most imposing architectural masterpiece—a 60-story glass monolith towering over the financial district.

My new chief PA, Sarah, held open the door as Chloe and I stepped out onto the polished marble entrance path. The primary real estate broker, sweating in a crisp three-piece suit, was already waiting at the base of the private VIP elevators, practically bowing as we approached.

"Mr. Ethan! An absolute honor," the broker gushed, hurriedly pressing his master keycard against the elevator scanner. "The penthouse triple-floor unit is the crown jewel of the entire city. Over thirty thousand square feet across the top three floors, private helicopter pad access, dedicated fiber-optic infrastructure, and floor-to-ceiling soundproof glass."

The private glass elevator rocketed upward, bypassing every floor until the doors slid smoothly open on the 60th floor.

The view took my breath away. The entire skyline stretched out beneath us in a panoramic sweep, bathed in brilliant sunlight. The interior was a pristine canvas of dark hardwood, Italian marble, and sleek architectural lines—grand, authoritative, and utterly uncompromising.

"The top floor is designed for the primary executive suite," the broker explained, trailing a step behind us as I walked toward the floor-to-ceiling glass wall overlooking the city. "The 59th floor holds the high-tier analyst war rooms and executive offices, while the 58th is fully rigged for private creative studios and secure client lounges."

Chloe walked over to the edge, looking down at the bustling streets below, a sharp, deeply impressed smile playing on her lips. "It’s perfect. From here, you can literally see Quin Records’ building down the boulevard. It looks tiny from up here."

Sarah stepped up to my right, her tablet already open. "The building owners are asking for eighty million dollars for the triple-floor penthouse title, fully furnished and customized to your specifications."

I stared out over the city skyline, resting my hands in my suit pockets, a smooth, lethal smirk settling on my face.

Eighty million was a drop in the ocean compared to the $1.8 billion liquid capital currently sitting in my account. This wasn’t just an office—it was the global command center for my new empire, the physical launchpad from which I would identify, back, and elevate the world’s most elite talents while flattening anyone who tried to stand in our way.

"Tell them I won’t just take the top three floors," I said calmly, turning back to face the broker. "I’m buying the entire top five floors, along with the exclusive naming rights to the tower."

The broker’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. "The... the entire top five floors?! And the naming rights?!"

"Have the contracts drafted and sent to Sarah within the hour," I commanded, my voice cold, authoritative, and completely unbothered by the sheer scale of the transaction. "I want my firm’s logo lit up on the top of this building by the end of the week."

Sarah tapped her screen with a satisfied nod. "Consider it done, sir. What will the official name on the building be?"

"Hidden Gem Investments," I said smoothly, watching Sarah type the corporate name into the property transfer documentation. "That’s what goes on the top of this building."

Sarah tapped her screen with a precise nod. "The deed is submitted, the funds are transferring, and the naming rights are officially locked in, Mr. Ethan. Hidden Gem Investments now owns the top five floors."

As the transaction cleared, a sudden, warm electric hum vibrated through the air. The golden system interface—invisible to everyone else—exploded to life right before my eyes, expanding far beyond its previous limits and unfolding into a massive, holographic global matrix:

[SYSTEM UPGRADE UNLOCKED: GLOBAL TALENT SCANNER]

New Feature: Unrestricted Global Acquisition Search

Capabilities: Real-time scanning for overlooked, elite female talents across all industries (Music, Acting, Sports, Tech, Business, Arts, Science).

Search Parameters: Search by raw potential rating, specific industry, hidden talent level, or current suppression status (e.g., trapped by toxic contracts or gatekeepers).

Special Multiplier Status: Elevating a scanned "Hidden Gem" will trigger calculated investment cashbacks up to 100x