Jordan Wicks lay on the thin mattress of his studio apartment, his eyes fixed on the ceiling as he tracked the slow expansion of water stains. Fourteen of them. The count remained unchanged from the previous afternoon.A half-empty bottle of discount vodka sat on the floorboards within arm's reach. He knew the remaining liquid wouldn't last the night, which forced a familiar, grim calculation. He could either eat a decent meal or buy another bottle. The choice was never truly in doubt. He reached for the glass.The vibration of his phone on the nightstand broke the silence . It was a persistent, rhythmic buzzing that usually signaled another collector or an automated system reminding him that Jordan Wicks Industries has become a ghost. His credit was a smoking crater, and the legal remains of his company had been picked clean eight months ago. He let it ring, staring at the peeling wallpaper until the silence returned.When the phone began to buzz again immediately, he checked the scr

The medical report arrived via courier at the LanceCorp headquarters three days after the authorities took Jordan into custody. Kent entered the executive suite with a rigid posture and a neutral expression."This is from Rebecca Edwards," Kent noted, deliberately using her maiden name. "The delivery person emphasized that the letter inside is marked as personal and strictly for her only."Lawrence stared at the thick envelope on his desk and debated the merits of sending it straight into the shredder. He had made his position clear to Rebecca after the public scandal, having instructed her to never reach out to him again. The footage of her being escorted out of the lobby by security had been a stain on his reputation."Do you want me to get rid of it?" Kent asked."No, leave it on the desk."When Kent stepped out and closed the heavy oak door, Lawrence broke the seal. The medical documentation originated from a top-tier obstetrics clinic in Zurich. He scanned the pages until he foun

Kent appeared at the door of the executive suite at nine in the morning. He held his tablet with a grip that turned his knuckles white, and his face carried the heavy weight of trouble. "We have a problem. The forensic accountants found massive irregularities in the operating accounts for LanceCorp." Lawrence looked up from the intelligence folder he had been studying. He set the papers aside and cleared his desk. "What kind of irregularities are we talking about?" "Small transfers at first. You see twenty thousand euros here and thirty-five thousand there. Individually, these amounts are insignificant for a firm of our size, but collectively they add up to approximately four point seven million euros over the past six months." Kent stepped into the room and tapped his screen, bringing up a series of complex spreadsheets. "The transfers are buried deep inside legitimate operational expenses. We are looking at vendor payments that are slightl

The auditorium was filled to capacity with over three hundred shareholders by the time Lawrence arrived. The seating followed a strict hierarchy of anxiety. Institutional investors occupied the front rows with stony expressions. Activist hedge fund managers were scattered throughout the middle like landmines. Individual shareholders filled the back, their faces a mix of genuine fear and simmering anger.Kent met Lawrence in the dim light backstage. The older man looked like he had not slept in days. "The room is hostile, Lawrence. Three of the activist funds are already circulating a petition for your immediate resignation. To make matters worse, two of our largest institutional partners have signaled they will dump their entire positions if you remain in the CEO chair by the end of the day.""Give me the numbers," Lawrence said, trying to keep his voice from wavering."They are trending downward. The stock price dropped four percent this morning just on the rumor that you might lose