Len nodded slowly.

"I agree. The question is not whether we need it," she said. "It's whether the next administration has the courage to push it, even if it's unpopular at first."

"Unpopular?" Timothy raised a brow. "You're polling well with younger voters when you talk about green jobs."

"Yes," Len said, "but older blocs still hear 'nuclear' and think 'Chernobyl.' They hear 'industrialization' and think 'pollution' and 'oligarchs getting richer while everyone else chokes.'"

She held his gaze.

"If I stand on that stage and say I want SMRs in three regions… people will ask who gets rich off it. Your name will come up."

"It already does," Timothy said. "I don't mind. I'm not pretending to be a charity. I will profit. But the country will, too."

She smiled faintly. "That's the difference. Some people forget to add that second part."

Timothy glanced toward the side where staff were giving her a countdown signal—ten minutes until she was up.

"Let's be very clear," he said. "My interest is simple. I need a stable policy horizon. If I'm going to sink hundreds of billions into nuclear, I need to know I won't be shut down by the next populist who wants quick applause."

"I can't control who runs after me," Len said honestly. "But I can create a legal and institutional foundation that's harder to destroy."

"That's what I'm buying," Timothy replied. "Stability. Rules. Structure."

She nodded.

"And in return," she said, "I get credible industry backing. I get to say: 'We're not just promising green jobs in a speech. We already have a partner ready to build them, if we win.'"

"As long as you don't make me sound like a saint," Timothy said dryly. "I'm an engineer, not a savior."

She chuckled.

"No halos. I promise."

Hana cleared her throat softly.

"Ma'am," she addressed Len politely, "our legal team just wanted to confirm—your side has countersigned the non-interference clause, right?"

Len's campaign manager quickly stepped forward, flipping a folder open.

"Yes," he said. "We included language stating that while TG may advise on policy design, all decisions remain solely with the elected government. No veto powers, no undue influence."

Timothy nodded.

"Good," he said. "I don't want to be accused of writing laws from my office. I just want the laws written by someone who understands what we're building."

Len's expression softened.

"Mr. Guerrero," she said, "I appreciate that you're doing this openly. Most people would hide it. You didn't have to meet me here."

"I know," Timothy said. "But I'm tired of pretending the private sector isn't part of nation-building. We are. We just usually show up late and dirty."

She smiled at that.

A stagehand approached.

"Ma'am, five minutes."

Len nodded.

She turned back to Timothy.

"One more thing," she said. "The Duerte camp will hit you sooner or later for this. They'll say you're backing me because I'll give you special treatment."

"I don't need special treatment," Timothy said calmly. "I need competent treatment."

"If they smear you?" she asked. "Call you names? Say you're trying to 'own' the country?"

Timothy shrugged lightly.

"I already own half its industrial capacity," he said. "They're late."

Hana almost choked, but Len actually laughed.

"Fair enough," she said. "Will you be okay if I mention 'partnerships with emerging Filipino industries' onstage? No names, just signal."

"Go ahead," he replied. "Let's see how the market reacts."

She extended a hand again.

"Then we have a deal?"

He took it.

"We already did the moment you signed that memorandum," he said. "Tonight is just optics."

She nodded, eyes steady.

"Then I'll do my part," she said. "Make sure your HyperCores have a country worth powering."

With that, she stepped away, campaign staff adjusting her mic and earpiece, volunteers handing her a pastel flag to wave as she walked toward the stage entrance.

The host's voice boomed over the speakers.

"Mga kababayan, please welcome… our candidate for President—LEN OBREDO!"

The crowd erupted.

From his position backstage, Timothy watched as Len stepped into the floodlights, the mass of people surging forward with cheers and banners.

He listened as she started—not with drama, but with a simple line:

"I'm not here to promise miracles. I'm here to promise work."

Good opening, he thought.

Hana leaned closer.

"Sir," she said quietly, "you know… if she wins, you're going to be on every political analyst's chart for the next six years."

"I'm already on every market analyst's chart," Timothy replied. "This is just… the next layer."

He watched as Len transitioned smoothly into economic reform, then into energy.

"Imagine," she told the crowd, "a Philippines where our factories, hospitals, trains, and homes are powered by clean, reliable energy that we control. Not expensive fuel we import. Not unstable grids that brown out every summer. Real, local, stable power."

Applause.

"We can do that," she continued. "With technology partners ready to invest here, build here, hire here. Filipino engineers, Filipino workers, Filipino-made future."

Timothy's eyes narrowed, listening to the rhythm, the phrasing.

She was selling it.

Not as "Timothy's project."

As the country's.

Good, he thought.

That was exactly what he needed.

Not a puppet.

A partner.

Hana glanced at him.

"Regretting anything yet?" she asked.

"Ask me that after COMELEC announces the winner," he said. "For now… no."

He slipped his hands into his pockets, gaze moving from the stage to the distant horizon, where somewhere beyond the city lights, his Subic HyperCore stood silent and waiting.

If this gamble paid off, the next speech he'd hear wouldn't be from a candidate on a rally stage.

It would be from a sitting president… standing at the inauguration of the country's first nuclear-powered industrial hub.

And when that day came, Timothy knew one thing for certain:

It wouldn't be politics that made it possible.

It would be the deal they were making right now—between a builder who refused to slow down and a leader willing to risk her campaign on a future most people still thought was impossible.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.