---- Chapter 25 Two decades later. The auditorium was packed. Students from the world's top engineering universities sat shoulder to shoulder, their faces a sea of anticipation. The annual Warner Digital innovation summit was the most coveted ticket in the tech world. On stage, a young man with his mother's eyes and his grandfather's easy charisma commanded the attention of the room. He spoke with a passion and intelligence that was entirely his own. "My mother, Anya Warner, founded this company on a simple principle," Nicholas Warner said, his voice ringing with conviction. "That technology should not be a cage, but a key. A key to unlock human potential, to foster connection, to build a better, more secure future for everyone." He clicked to the next slide, a black and white photo of a young woman with dark, intense eyes, her face illuminated by the glow of a computer monitor. "She started as a ghost," he said, his voice softening. "A brilliant mind forced into the shadows. But she refused to stay there. She rose from the ashes, not for revenge, but for a revolution. She built an empire not on the ruins of her enemies, but on the foundation of her own genius." ---- In the back of the auditorium, hidden in the shadows, a woman stood watching. Her hair was now threaded with silver, her face lined with the wisdom of a life fully lived. She smiled, a quiet, contented smile. Beside her, a man with kind eyes and a familiar, playful grin squeezed her hand. "He's something else, isn't he?" Dante Mullen whispered. "He is," Anya Warner whispered back. After the presentation, as Nicky was mobbed by aspiring engineers and venture capitalists, Anya and Dante slipped out a side door. They walked through the sprawling, futuristic campus of Warner Digital, a city of glass and steel that had been nothing but a dream two decades ago. "So," Dante said, breaking the comfortable silence. "That offer... is it still on the table?" Anya looked at him. Their friendship had been the one constant in her whirlwind life. He had been her teammate, her confidant, her partner in everything but name. He had watched her son grow up, celebrated her triumphs, and supported her through every challenge She thought of the lonely road she had chosen, the path of the self-reliant queen. She had built her legacy. She had proven everything she needed to prove, to the world and to herself. Her son was a man now, ready to forge his own path. ---- Perhaps... perhaps it was finally time to build something just for herself. "Ask me again tomorrow," she said, a playful glint in her eye. He laughed, a rich, happy sound. "As | said," he murmured, pulling her close, his arm wrapping around her waist in a gesture that was both familiar and new. "No expiration date." From a distance, hidden amongst the anonymous faces of the city, an old man watched them. His hair was grey, his face was a roadmap of a hard-lived life. He saw the easy intimacy between them, the shared laughter. He saw the son, now a leader in his own right, the living embodiment of a legacy he had so foolishly discarded. Hamilton Glass allowed himself a small, sad smile. He had spent his life wandering, seeking a peace he never found. But watching her now, so full of life, so happy, so complete... he felt a flicker of it. Her story had ended perfectly. His punishment, and perhaps his redemption, was to be the silent, unseen witness to the beautiful world she had built without him. He turned and walked away, a true ghost at last, disappearing into the city's endless crowd.