The Price Ascent

In the fictional nation of Veridia, a federal program subsidizes broadband for underprivileged schools. Marcus Cole, a brilliant but impoverished engineering prodigy, claws his way into the elite telecom giant, ApexNet. Seduced by wealth and status, he engineers a fraudulent rebate scheme that siphons millions. As his star rises, a quiet auditor named Elena Vance begins to trace the numbers. Told in taut, psychological prose, this is a story of ambition, betrayal, and the inescapable weight of a conscience buried too deep.