High above the bustling avenue after the program had ended, Angela Miretti stood looking out over the city lights.Beside her, Ethan Sanders leaned casually against a carved stone pillar, his eyes watching the distant river fog drift over the bridges."It is finally over," Angela said softly, turnin

The morning light crept through the dirty window of the slum room, casting gray beams over peeling walls. A foul smell of wet rot and leaking sewage drifted up from the damp floor.On a rusted cot, Donald Macy sat shivering, clutching a piece of rock-hard bread. His mouth throbbed with agony, his br

The next morning at the southern checkpoint, twenty transport trucks carrying the silver crest of the Miretti Group sat stranded in an endless row. State commercial inspectors rolled out tire spikes across the asphalt, blocking the road completely.Truck drivers jumped down from their cabs into the

Tina walked around the wide conference room with slow steps, her red high heels clicking sharply against the floor.She ran a red fingernail across the back of an empty chair, looking down at Angela Miretti with cold, mocking eyes."Look at this grand office," Tina said, letting out a sharp laugh. "

Angela frowned, a cold knot of dread forming in the pit of her stomach as she watched him. "What are you talking about? What are you planning against my family now?""I know about your father, Franco Miretti," Lucas said smoothly, tapping his knuckles against the wood."I know he's lying in bed righ