Herding the Flock



*Chapter One: The Birth*



I didn't destroy Julian to save Arthur. I destroyed him to own him.



Ethan sat in his dark office, eyes locked on the screen. He wasn't just scared. He was sick to his stomach. The man he saw as a mentor, his hero, his role model... was ready to throw him in prison like a dog, just to keep his chair.



He didn't cry. He didn't scream.



At that exact moment, the old Ethan died.



The kid in jeans who wanted to change the world died. And someone else was born in his place. Someone who finally understood the game: In politics, honor isn't a weapon. Honor is your weakness. The real weapon is holding everyone's strings while they smile at you.



The next morning, Ethan walked into Arthur's luxurious office without knocking.



Arthur was sipping his coffee nervously.



"About Julian's file..." Ethan said, with an eerie calm.



Arthur played dumb. "Is it authentic? Are we publishing it?"



Ethan placed the USB drive on the desk.



"The file you sent was a stupid forgery. Whoever published it would go to prison. So... I fixed it. I made it perfect. Untraceable. I published it ten minutes ago. Julian is over."



Arthur smiled with joy. "Brilliant! I knew you—"



Ethan cut him off. His voice was ice:



"And I also kept the original. The one that proves you forged it from your personal computer. I put it on a server that will automatically leak everything to the press if anything happens to me. Or if I forget to log in."



Arthur's smile froze. His face went pale. He was looking at a 23-year-old kid as if he were looking at a monster.



He swallowed hard. "What... what do you want?"



Ethan sat in front of him, crossing his legs.



"First, you win the election. Second, after you take the oath, you appoint me Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister."



"We don't make history, Mr. President. We manage it. Now... let's review your victory speech.". . author Caspian Gray