Forty Million

The buyer who needed Atlas independent was not Kell. Not Marcus. Not even Priya. It was the customers. At the emergency board-style meeting, Ethan surprised everyone by refusing Northstar. "We raise from customers," he said. Priya stared. "Strategic customer syndicate?" "Banks, logistics, media, cloud, and regulated enterprise. Smaller checks. No one owns us. Everyone needs us credible." Hannah looked pained. "Complicated." "But defensible," Elise said from the speakerphone. She had joined as an adviser with no title and too many opinions. Priya slowly smiled. "Harder to kill." For thirty hours, they worked the phones. Nora did not write. She watched the machine being built out of pressure and spite.