Chapter 50: The News !!
Monday Morning
The sun rose over Star Harbor, casting golden light across the quiet streets as a light breeze swept through. The city was beginning to wake—shops opening, people hustling to work—but for Miles Sterling, the rhythm never really slowed.
Inside his sleek black car, dressed in his usual sharp, understated style, Miles leaned back in the driver’s seat as the engine purred down the tree-lined avenue leading to the university. His eyes flicked toward the dashboard clock. 7:42 AM.
He tapped the call button on the wheel. The line connected instantly. "Hello, boss," came June’s crisp, alert voice on the other end. She sounded like she’d already been at work for hours. "Do we begin then?"
Miles spoke with calm precision. "Start employee onboarding for operations. Use trusted people. If we’re short, get them from Reaper’s HR pool. I want speed over paperwork."
"Understood," June responded, already typing something in the background.
"We’re targeting the media sector first," Miles continued. "I want major news companies in this country—either investments or full acquisitions. I don’t care which. We clean them up. Cut the corruption. Filter out biased puppets. We’re building a clean narrative."
"Got it," June said, her tone firmer.
"Tell Monica to set up a new Sterling corporate bank account. All transactions go through it. I don’t want anything connected to Reaper’s financial architecture on the surface. This needs to look like a clean, standalone empire."
"Already texting her, boss," June replied. "She’ll get it ready by end of day."
"Good," Miles said. Then added: "Within two weeks, I want the foundation for Sterling Media in place. Name, structure, key channels. Hire a top celebrity or two to be the brand face. Push them to the front of every major screen in this country."