The bell rang at 9:30 a.m.
Luke didn't flinch.
Before the Bell
Second Nature Games occupied three floors of glass and steel in downtown Chicago now—but Luke stood alone in a quiet side room, tie loosened, hands steady.
On the screen:
Ticker: SNG
Opening Valuation: $2.8 billion
Primary Products:
2048+
South Side: Survival
Urban Dominion
Brad paced. Fiona sat rigid, hands clasped. Ian kept rereading the prospectus like it might change.
Xan watched silently, feet swinging.
"You okay?" she asked.
Luke smiled. "Yeah. Just remembering when we couldn't pay the water bill."
The Road Here
Investors didn't buy the company for flashy trailers.
They bought it for retention curves.
Games that didn't just hook players—but kept them.
Stories that respected struggle.
Systems that punished recklessness and rewarded care.
Second Nature didn't sell fantasy.
It sold consequence.
The Bell
The exchange official nodded.
Luke reached out and struck the bell.
CLANG.
Applause erupted.
On-screen numbers surged.
$18… $22… $31…
Brad whispered, "Holy hell."
Luke exhaled slowly.
Aftermath
Phones lit up instantly.
Offers. Interviews. Hostile acquisition rumors.
Luke declined them all.
At the press conference, he said only one thing:
"We make games for people who don't get happy endings handed to them."
The room went silent.
Then applause—real this time.
Wealth, Defined
By noon, Luke was a paper billionaire.
By evening, nothing in his life had changed.
Same house.
Same family.
Same responsibility.
He wired money quietly:
Trust funds for the kids
Long-term healthcare for Fiona
Endowment accounts for education
No headlines.
Just stability.
That Night
They celebrated with takeout and cheap beer.
Xan raised her soda. "Does this mean you're rich?"
Luke thought about it.
"I was rich the day nobody got taken away," he said.
She nodded like that made perfect sense.
System Final Update (Arc):
Milestone Achieved:IPO Complete
Company Status: Global Publisher
Wish Fulfilled:Break the Cycle — CONFIRMED
Karma Accrued: +1,200
Next Phase: OPTIONAL
The market closed.
The numbers settled.
Luke leaned back, exhausted—not from hunger or fear—
But from finally carrying success without dropping anyone.