270 Park Avenue, New York City.

Rain streaked across the floor-to-ceiling windows, soft and steady, the gray afternoon light cutting through the storm clouds that hovered above Manhattan.

Inside the executive boardroom, the air was thick with that peculiar silence that falls right before a financial hurricane.

At the far end of the table, Marianne, Head of Ultra-High-Net-Worth Relations, broke the silence. Her tone was low but sharp.

"They're connecting us to Nova Technologies. Treasury filed a formal request through the OCC this morning — joint query with Homeland Security."

Across from her, Thomas Whitmore, the bank's Chief Risk Officer, adjusted his glasses. He'd been staring at the internal ledger summary for the past ten minutes, hoping the numbers would rearrange themselves into something less incriminating.

"Our exposure originates from Bellemere Family Office," he said finally. "Nova's Delaware registration came straight out of one of our incubation templates — set up when Liam Scott was still under our private-banking umbrella."

A few heads turned sharply at that.

Charlotte Winslow, General Counsel, looked up from her legal pad. "You're telling me the most talked-about company on Earth was incorporated through one of our formation shells?"

Whitmore nodded grimly. "Yes. Standard venture structuring—Delaware LLC, cascade ownership, registered via our Family-Office Formation Desk. All perfectly legal. But the signature trail leads right back here, under Daniel Conley's oversight, before Bellemere became independent."

A quiet hiss of air escaped Charlotte's lips as she exhaled. "Well, congratulations, everyone. We just became the supporting cast in the biggest tech mystery of the century."

At the head of the table, Jamie Whitlock, CEO of JP Morgan, placed his coffee down carefully. The soft clink echoed like a gavel.

"So, let me make sure I understand this. We helped the most mysterious teenager in the world, with billions of dollars in undisclosed assets, set up his family office. Not only that, but we also create for him a legal shell for a small tech venture. That venture suddenly drops a piece of technology that makes Silicon Valley look medieval, and now the U.S. government thinks we're the architects of an alien invasion?"

No one answered, because there was no answer to be given.

Marianne's voice was steady but her jaw was tight. "Liam Scott is no longer our client. Bellemere is fully independent. We built the scaffolding, but he owns the tower."

Charlotte shook her head slowly. "That distinction won't matter to Washington. They see our fingerprints on the blueprints and they'll call it complicity."

Whitmore tapped his tablet, pulling up another set of alerts. "Requests are pouring in. Homeland wants KYC files, Treasury wants every transaction linked to Nova Technologies, and the SEC wants confirmation of beneficial ownership. If we open the books entirely, we look naïve. If we refuse, we look guilty."

Jamie Whitlock leaned back, expression unreadable. "Then we do what we always do — walk the knife edge. Cooperate enough to appear transparent, reveal nothing that matters."

He turned to Charlotte. "Draft a disclosure protocol. Limit access to executives only. Attorney-client privilege covers Bellemere. Add private-banking confidentiality as the second firewall."

Charlotte nodded. "Understood. I'll also reach out to our OCC liaison. Better they hear a sanitized version from us before they start sniffing around."

Marianne leaned forward. "We also need to discuss relationship management. Bellemere Family Office is about to control more liquid capital than several sovereign wealth funds combined. We can't afford to lose our proximity. Also, he's still in the news for his private A380. Sigh... Just thinking about it is gives me a migraine already. Just who the hell is this kid?"

Whitlock gave a small nod. "It's the same question we all have. But we don't sever ties. Instead, we reinforce them, and quietly. Geneva desk, Singapore desk — we will extend our concierge coverage through them. Offer liquidity pipelines, property financing, global custody — whatever keeps us inside his orbit. This is one more reason for us to make sure we don't lose Liam. I don't care who he is, what matters is what we stand to gain. And you all are aware that we stand to gain a lot. It's high time we also become a trillion-dollar company."

Whitmore frowned. "Optics, Jamie. If the headlines turn ugly, we'll look like we're courting scandal."

Whitlock's eyes flicked to him. "Optics," he said softly, "are what we control best."

He stood and moved toward the window. The skyline beyond shimmered under the rain.

"Listen carefully," he said, his tone measured and cold. "We are not in the business of morality. We are in the business of permanence. Governments fall. Companies burn. Money endures. And right now, the Bellemere Family Office represents the next century of it. This is a technology that the big four tech companies will probably be never be able to replicate. This is a monopoly. This is our game and we play to win!"

No one spoke. Even the sound of rain seemed to fade.

"Lock down every internal reference to Liam Scott, Nova Technologies, or Bellemere. Executive-eyes only. Rename the archive 'Project Horizon.'"

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "Why Horizon?"

Whitlock's mouth curved faintly. "Because we're standing on the edge of one—and I intend for this bank to be the first to step across."

The words hung in the room like prophecy.

Marianne closed her tablet and looked up. "We'll maintain discreet contact through Daniel Conley. Nothing formal, nothing on record."

Whitlock nodded. "Good. Keep the bridge standing but make it invisible."

Whitmore hesitated, glancing between them. "And if the regulators press harder?"

The CEO's reply was quiet, almost weary. "Then we remind them that JP Morgan doesn't hide clients. We protect global stability, and sometimes those two things are the same."

Marianne exhaled softly. "And if this 'stability' becomes too big for us to hold?"

Whitlock gave her a faint smile. "Then we hold on tighter. You were also the one that said he's a priority client. We can't afford to back out ever."

Charlotte scribbled notes on her pad, already structuring the legal firewall in her head. "We'll prepare a tiered response tree — OCC first, Treasury second, FBI last. Anything higher goes through my office."

Whitmore added, "And the press?"

"PR will issue a statement at market close," Whitlock said. "One paragraph. Keep it dull. 'JP Morgan Private Bank provides fiduciary infrastructure to a broad range of clients and is not operationally involved in their ventures.' Nothing defensive, nothing emotional."

Marianne smirked faintly. "Boring enough to be believable."

"Exactly," Whitlock said. "Noise dies when there's nothing to feed on."

He paused, his gaze distant. "Still, we prepare for the storm. If this boy's invention rewrites technology, markets will follow. So will capital flows. Every sovereign fund, hedge, and pension will chase him. We make sure that chase leads back through us."

Whitmore grimaced. "You're turning a liability into an opportunity."

Whitlock looked over his shoulder. "That's banking, Thomas."

The rain thickened outside, streaking the glass with silver rivers. Lightning flashed faintly somewhere over the Hudson.

Charlotte looked up again. "Do we reach out to Washington pre-emptively? Offer cooperation to buy goodwill?"

"No," Whitlock said firmly. "We let them come to us. If we move first, we look frightened. Fear costs leverage. We project calm, nothing else."

Marianne added, "And Bellemere?"

"Send a note through Geneva. Congratulate them on their continued growth. Offer any service they need — discreetly. Make sure they know we're still their bank of choice."

Whitmore raised a brow. "And if Liam Scott decides he doesn't need banks anymore?"

Whitlock turned back toward the window, a ghost of a smile tracing his lips. "Then we'll remind him that even gods need accountants."

For a long moment, no one spoke. The weight of what that meant settled over the table like fog.

Somewhere deep below, traffic horns echoed faintly through the rain.

Marianne gathered her notes. "We'll brief the regional heads tonight. The Family Office network will need reassurance."

"Do it," Whitlock said. "Tell them this isn't contagion. It's evolution."

He looked around the room one last time, his voice steady. "History's written by those who stay solvent. Make sure we do."

The executives rose, chairs scraping softly against the floor. Aides entered with tablets and sealed folders. Phones buzzed; memos were drafted. The bank's defense machine whirred quietly to life.

Whitlock lingered behind, watching the city lights flicker through the rain-streaked glass. His reflection looked older than he remembered.

"A boy builds a miracle," he murmured to no one. "And everyone else builds defenses. Typical."

He straightened his tie, gathered his notes, and turned toward the door.

"Let's make sure that when this storm passes," he said under his breath, "the only bank left standing beside him— is ours."

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.