The Danielson lobby did not celebrate like rich people did. It celebrated like drowning people who had just found air.Whispers moved faster than footsteps, sliding from desk to desk, from the security booth to the elevators, from the broken-smile receptionists to the staff who still looked like they hadn’t slept in weeks. Faces that had been hard with fear softened for the first time in months.“Did you hear?” a young analyst murmured to his coworker, with a voice that was shaky. “The deal went through.”His coworker blinked like she didn’t trust her ears. “With the Xavier group?” she asked. “Are you sure?”“I heard it from the Legal department,” he said. “Lord Victor agreed. He agreed to the Xavier group's terms.”A third staff member leaned in, almost begging for the words to be true. “So the rigs will run again?”The analyst nodded quickly. “If Xavier comes back… the stabilizers come back. Our pipelines in the Jacostia river stops freezing. The output climbs. Maybe the layoffs st

Ethan stood on the Danielson steps with the morning air on his face, but his mind was already somewhere else.The name on the call had not been casual. It had been timed.Victor Danielson lingered a step behind him, still looking like a man who didn’t trust peace. Eight months had changed Victor in ways the newspapers would never print. The arrogance that once filled every room he entered had been sanded down by sleepless nights and endless negative financial reports. When a man spends months watching his empire collapse piece by piece, even breathing starts to feel like borrowed time.He kept his hands clasped in front of him, like he was afraid to move wrong and lose everything again.Ethan stared ahead for a second, then put the phone back to his ear.“Mira,” he said, voice steady. “Can it wait until next week?”There was a pause on the line, the kind that meant she had expected the question and already had the answer.“No, sir,” Mira said. Her tone was professional, but tight.

Mina’s greeting landed softly, but the room did not feel soft.“Hello, Master Ethan,” she said politely.For a brief moment the room felt quieter than it should have. The air-conditioning hummed softly above them, but no one moved. The two men behind Mina remained still, their posture was disciplined like they understood the importance of this meeting. Even Mira’s fingers stopped moving on her tablet as she watched Ethan carefully.Ethan watched her without changing his face. He had seen polite smiles before. Some of them hid respect. Others hid knives.“Goodday,” Ethan replied. His tone was calm. “Sit if you want to sit. Speak if you came to speak.”Mina’s smile stayed. She turned slightly and gestured to the men behind her like they were part of the package.“We appreciate your time,” she said. “We’re here on behalf of Gibson Pharmaceutical Group to propose a partnership with Xavier Tech group.”The name of the company carried weight in the room. Gibson Pharmaceutical was not a min

Mina did not look surprised by Ethan’s suspicion. If anything, she looked ready for it.Her smile stayed polite as she folded her hands over the tablet. “That is only because I respect efficiency,” she said. “And because there are already people in your company who understand the value of this project.”Ethan’s gaze sharpened. “What does that mean?”Mina held his eyes and answered without flinching. “Your board has already approved the project.”The room went still.Even the air seemed to tighten around the sentence. Mira’s fingers froze on her tablet, and the two men behind Mina lowered their eyes like they knew this was the line that would change the mood.Ethan turned his head slowly toward Mira. His voice stayed calm, but that calm had weight in it now. “In my absence?”Mira swallowed once, then nodded. “Yes, Master Ethan,” she said. “They reviewed the proposal before you returned. They gave a provisional thumbs up, pending your final signature.”Ethan looked at her for a long se

Rhael did not rush. He chose his next words like a man placing charges around a bridge. “It means you are preparing to sit in a room with someone who has already gained too much,” he said. “And you are preparing to do it under rules that favor his survival.”Darius frowned slightly as the meaning behind those words began to settle in his mind. The suggestion was not yet spoken clearly, but the direction of it was obvious enough to make his chest tighten. Rhael was not talking about strategy anymore. He was talking about something far darker.Darius studied him. “Speak clearly because I am struggling to understand you at this point.”The irritation in Darius’s voice was real, but beneath it was something else. A thin thread of unease had begun to creep into the conversation. He had asked for clarity, yet a part of him already suspected what the brigadier general was about to say.Rhael inclined his head. “General, if Ethan enters that room and leaves it alive, he leaves with more tha