The fire on the clothesline was still burning when Bernard Hemsley finally snapped.“Enough of this nonsense,” he said, waving his hand like he was brushing away flies. “You, you and you—” he pointed at three of his men “—go inside and start taking things out. Beds, tables, whatever you find. I want this place emptied.”His men nodded and pushed past the children. One kicked aside a toy car. Another shoved a girl out of his path with his elbow as they headed for the building. The girl stumbled and grabbed Mama Ruth’s dress, eyes wide with fear.“Please, don’t touch anything,” Eva cried, hurrying after them. “The children sleep on those beds. Those are their books.”One of the men glanced back with a smirk. “Then tell them to sleep on the ground. It will toughen them up.”Bernard was already pulling out his phone. “Yes, hello,” he said when the person on the other end answered. “Send a bulldozer to Grace Haven Orphanage. Yes, that one. I want the structures pulled down as soon as possi

Bernard Hemsley sat rigidly in the backseat of his SUV, fingers digging into the leather cushion beside him until his knuckles turned white.His convoy crawled through Avalora’s afternoon traffic toward Xavier Group Headquarters, but his mind was still trapped in that orphanage courtyard — in the echo of a slap, in the calm voice that gave him twenty minutes to save his life’s work.His phone rang again.He almost ignored it, then he saw the caller ID.Victor.The same friend who had laughed over drinks and told him, “Buy that land. Orphanage or not, business is business. Kick them out. The world respects the bold.”Bernard jabbed the answer button. “What.”“Bernard, my man,” Victor said, cheerful and relaxed. “How’s everything? Have you finally claimed that land? These charity dependent people, you need to be ruthless with them—”“You,” Bernard cut in, voice low and shaking with anger, “are the last person I want to hear from right now.”There was a pause. “What’s with the tone? Did

Florian Donalds looked like a man who had never heard the word “no” in his life.He stood in front of Ethan’s desk with his arms folded, chin raised. The city of Avalora lay below them, but in that moment the only thing that mattered to Florian was the younger man sitting calmly in Magnus Xavier’s old chair.“Let me make this simple, Mr. Ward,” Florian said, his tone clipped and cold. “Your refusal to release the NexaTower Automator violates Clause Fourteen of our agreement. Timely deployment. That is a breach. And a breach comes with penalties.”He tapped two fingers on Ethan’s desk as if he were tapping a gavel.“I can sue Xavier Tech for operational delays, infrastructural standstill, investor compensation, and projected revenue loss. Do you understand what that totals? Hundreds of millions of dollars. And any court in this country will side with a national bank over a contractor.”No doubt, this was a very big situation but Ethan kept his own face calm.“We’re delaying this operat

Harvey took a shaky breath. “Imperium Bank’s foreign exchange license has been suspended pending review. Effective immediately. All trading is frozen. Our FX desks have been locked out of the live market. Our digital assets are already dipping and counterparties are cutting lines. Sir, our profits are falling by the second.”For a moment, Florian forgot how to breathe. The room seemed to tilt, and the edges of his vision blurred.“That… that can’t be right,” he whispered. “Check again. There must be an error. I mean our digital security wall is very tight.”“There is no error, sir,” Harvey said, his voice breaking. “The notice is signed by Governor Hale himself. Our regional branches are calling. Investors are asking what is happening. This is… this is a catastrophe.”Florian said nothing. He ended the call without replying and slowly lowered the phone.His hand was shaking. His chest felt tight. Across the desk, Ethan’s expression had not changed.“Well,” Ethan said quietly, “earlier

Steward Leonard studied Ethan for a moment, then nodded. “Then let us go, Master Ethan. The convoy is ready.”They stepped out of the dressing room and into the bright hallway. Staff stood along the walls with straight backs and lowered eyes. As Ethan passed, some gave small bows, but no one spoke. When the doors opened to the outside, sunlight washed over the stone steps, warm and clear. The scent of cut grass mixed with the faint smell of fuel from the engines waiting below.Five black SUVs stood in formation on the driveway. Engines hummed, quiet but strong. The front gate of the Xavier estate rose in the distance like a steel guardian.Leonard opened the rear door of the middle SUV. “This is yours,” he said. “The lead vehicle is in front, two escorts behind.”Ethan slid into the back seat on the right. The leather felt cool and firm. Leonard joined him on the left. Two security men sat in front, the driver and another with an earpiece. As soon as the doors closed, the convoy rol