Chapter 25: The Catalyst
The journal had shifted something fundamental between them. It was as if Elias had handed Eleanor a key to a secret chamber of his heart, and in doing so, unlocked an even deeper level of intimacy in their relationship. For days, she carried it with her, often touching its cover as if to reassure herself it was real. Their love, once a quiet, steady river, now felt like a roaring ocean—powerful, deep, and thrillingly unpredictable.
It was this new, heightened connection that made the phone call from Catherine Shaw so jarring.
Eleanor answered on the third ring, her voice still warm from their morning together. "Hi, Mom." Her smile faded instantly, replaced by a stark, bloodless pallor. "What? When?... Is he sure?"
Elias was at her side in an instant, his hand on her lower back, a silent anchor.
She hung up the phone, her hand trembling. "It's my father," she whispered, the words seeming to cost her. "He... he's been in an accident. A bad one. He's in the hospital in Seattle."
The world tilted. Eleanor's father, a quiet, kind man who lived across the country, was a figure from her past she rarely discussed. His sudden presence in their lives, in this brutal way, was a shockwave.
"He was asking for me," she said, her voice breaking. "Before they put him under. He asked for me."
The unspoken plea hung in the air. They had no money for last-minute cross-country flights. The life they were building was one of careful budgeting and slow, steady growth. A crisis like this could break them.
"I'll handle it," Elias said, his voice leaving no room for argument. This was not the time for his slow-and-steady wealth-building plan. This was the moment to use the one advantage he had never wanted to exploit: his perfect memory of the future.
While Eleanor packed a bag with frantic, tearful hands, he retreated to their bedroom and closed the door. He pulled out his own, plainer journal—the one that held his real secrets. Flipping past the notes on "Common Ground" and "Digital Bridge," he found the section he kept encrypted in his own mind: *Short-Term, High-Yield Opportunities.*
He found it. A little-known biotech stock, "Genome Therapeutics," was about to release clinical trial data for a new cancer drug. In his original timeline, the data had been unexpectedly positive, and the stock had surged over 300% in a single day. The release was tomorrow.
It was a gamble. A huge one. But it was the only play he had.
Using the ancient desktop computer in their living room, its modem screeching in protest, he liquidated every asset he had—the remainder of his NetSolve stock, the small cash reserve he'd built from his freelance work. It was everything. He transferred it all into his brokerage account and, with a steady hand born of absolute certainty, placed a massive, all-in buy order for Genome Therapeutics.
He booked two first-class tickets to Seattle on the next available flight. The cost was astronomical, a number that would have made him flinch in his previous life. Now, it was just a number. Eleanor's peace of mind was the only currency that mattered.
When he told her, she stared at him, her face a canvas of shock and confusion. "Eli... how? We can't afford this."
"I had some investments do better than expected," he said, pulling her into a tight hug, her tear-streaked face pressed against his chest. He hated the lie, but the truth was a burden she couldn't carry right now. "Don't worry about the money. Just be with your dad."
The flight was a surreal blur. Eleanor clung to his hand the entire time, her grip tight and desperate. He held her, whispering reassurances, playing the part of the supportive, lucky boyfriend. Inside, the CEO was coldly monitoring the markets, counting down the hours.
They landed in a gray, drizzling Seattle. As their taxi navigated the wet streets toward the hospital, Elias's phone, a clunky early-model cell, buzzed with a news alert.
**GENOME THERAPEUTICS ANNOUNCES BREAKTHROUGH CANCER TRIAL RESULTS, STOCK SOARS.**
He quickly opened his brokerage app. The number on the screen made his breath catch. He had not just made back the cost of the flights. He had quintupled his entire net worth. Overnight.
He was a millionaire. Again.
The irony was not lost on him. In his quest to build a life of meaning beyond wealth, he had been forced to use his ultimate financial weapon to protect the very heart of that life. The two paths—love and empire—were now irrevocably, dangerously intertwined.
He slipped the phone back into his pocket as they pulled up to the hospital. He looked at Eleanor, her face pale with fear and exhaustion, completely unaware that the man beside her now held the power to buy the entire building they were about to enter.
He took her hand. "Ready?"
She nodded, her trust in him absolute.
As they walked through the automatic doors into the sterile, antiseptic air, Elias felt the weight of his secret settle on his shoulders like a crown he never wanted to wear again. He had saved the day, but he had just crossed a line. The ghost of the billionaire had returned, and he was standing in a hospital hallway, holding the hand of the only woman who could ever make him feel like just a man. The stakes for their future had just been raised to a terrifying new height.