My inner circle sat around the main table—Damian, Marcus, Lucille, Isabella, and Ravenna. The twins stood in shadows, as always. Thomas leaned against the wall, arms crossed. Drake, Felix represented their respective divisions.

My faction.

"Three days of attacks," I said, pointing at the map. Red marks indicated every hit. "Seven supply caravans. Two warehouses. One workshop. Total losses of one hundred and forty thousand gold and most of those gold aren't ours."

Whistles of dismay.

"That's... substantial," Isabella said carefully. She was in full business mode in elegant dress, perfect posture, but her eyes were calculating. "We can absorb it, but not if it continues."

"It'll continue," Lucille said. She'd returned an hour ago from interrogating one of the hired thugs. "I got one to talk. They're being paid through dead drops. Hired by a 'concerned merchant' who wants to eliminate competition."

"Adrian," Marcus said.

"We can't prove it. The money's clean and routed through multiple intermediaries, it could be anyone."

"But it's not anyone," I said. "It's Adrian. The timing's too convenient. And the methods too sophisticated. This is retaliation for Lucille."

"So what do we do?" Drake asked. "Hit back?"

"We could, burn his supply lines. See how he likes it."

"No," Isabella said firmly. Everyone looked at her. "That's what he wants. For us to retaliate illegally. Then he reports us, plays the victim, and the academy shuts us down."

"Isabella's right," I said. "We can't fight dirty. We have to stay clean.

One thing Adrian has behind him right at the moment is the Academy. He's set a trap.

"So we just take it?" Someone asked.

"No. We fight smart." I looked at Isabella. "What would hurt Adrian economically? And Legally?"

She thought for a moment. Then smiled. It wasn't a nice smile.

"His contracts. He's been offering below-cost pricing to monopolize the market. Losing money short-term to eliminate competition."

"Predatory pricing," I said. "That's illegal under merchant guild rules."

"Technically. But hard to prove unless you have..." She paused. "Unless you have his financial records."

The room went quiet.

"You want to steal his books?" Lucille asked.

"I want you to acquire evidence of illegal business practices," Isabella corrected. "Semantics matter."

"Can you prove predatory pricing with his records?" I asked.

"Absolutely. His cost structure versus pricing strategy would be obvious. The guild would have to investigate."

I looked at Lucille. "Can you help get them?"

"His financial records? From his dorm?" She considered. "It would be difficult but possible. He'll have security."

"Take the twins and me. Together it'll be as easy as stealing from a kid" I smiled. "I like those odds."

"When?"

"Tonight. While he's at the weekly S-Class social. He never misses those."

Lucille nodded. "I'll coordinate."

"Meanwhile," I turned to Isabella. "You said he's been offering below-cost pricing?"

"On fifteen contracts. Losing approximately twenty thousand gold per month."

"How long can he sustain that?"

"With his backer's funding? Six months. Maybe eight."

"What if we made it cost him more?"

Her eyes lit up. "You want to force him into a price war?"

"I want to make his strategy unsustainable. Can you do it without losing money ourselves?"

"I can do it while making a profit. It'll require... creativity. But yes."

"Then do it. Make him bleed gold."

"With pleasure."

I looked around the room. "Everyone else, standard defensive posture. Doubled guards on all assets. Varied routes. Assume every schedule is compromised. Marcus, can you create tracking enchantments?"

"For our goods? Easy. If someone steals them, we'll know where they go."

"Perfect. Let's turn defense into intelligence gathering."

☆☆▪︎▪︎☆☆

Adrian had requested this meeting personally and Isabella almost declined.

But curiosity won.

He was already there when she arrived. Still handsome, still radiating that natural charisma. But she'd seen past it months ago.

"Isabella." He stood, smiled. "Thank you for coming."

"You said it was important." She sat, ordered tea and waited.

"I wanted to talk about our business relationship."

"We don't have one."

"Exactly. And that's... unfortunate." He leaned forward. "You're one of the most brilliant merchants I've met. Your partnership with Hadeon Ravana is impressive. But imagine what you could do with proper backing."

"I have proper backing."

"I can offer more. My supporters include three of the kingdom's largest trading houses. Access to resources Ravana can't match."

"Interesting." She sipped her tea. "And what would you want in return?"

"Exclusive partnership. You handle all my faction's economic needs. I ensure you have access to markets beyond your current reach."

She pretended to consider. "That's generous."

"I value talent. You're wasted on Ravana."

"Am I?" She set down her cup. "Let's discuss numbers. You're currently operating fifteen contracts at twenty percent below cost. Losing twenty thousand gold monthly. You're offering me access to markets I can already reach through my family. And you want exclusivity."

His smile faltered slightly. "You've been tracking my finances?"

"I track all major economic actors. It's called due diligence."

"Those losses are temporary with strategic positioning....."

"Is bankrupting you," she finished. "Your backers are funding a price war you can't win. Because the moment you raise prices, competition returns. You need market dominance to make it work. But you don't have it."

"I could with your help."

"No. You couldn't. Because your strategy is fundamentally flawed."

The mask cracked a bit more. "Flawed?"

"You're using money to solve a trust problem. Students don't choose vendors based purely on price. They choose based on reliability, quality, and relationship. Hadeon understands that but you don't."

"Hadeon is manipulating you..."

"Hadeon offered me a fifty-fifty partnership. Equal profit sharing. Equal decision making. Full transparency on finances. You're offering me... what? To be your employee?"

"I'm offering you opportunity....."

"To make you money while you take credit." She stood. "I did my analysis before this meeting, Adrian. You've approached four other merchants this month. All turned you down. I'm not special. I'm just the last one willing to meet with you."

His aura flared slightly. Holy light flickering at the edges.

"Careful," she said softly. "We're in public. Threatening a merchant with magic tends to damage your reputation."

He controlled himself. Barely. "You're making a mistake."

"No. I made my decision months ago when I chose a partner who respects me over someone who sees me as a resource."

She placed money on the table for her tea.

"Good luck with your price war, Adrian. You'll need it."

As she walked away, she felt his eyes on her back. Angry. Calculating.

Let him be angry.

She had better things to do.

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