"If you are indeed death itself, Mr. Hale, then let me be the ledger that calculates all their sins before you take their lives."Benjamin Carter stared straight into Alexander's eyes. His grip on the black folder tightened. The vengeance that had been rotting inside the former auditor's chest now found the perfect vessel. That very night, Benjamin officially became the first tracking dog in the new empire of Hale Capital.Twelve hours later, the dingy atmosphere of the East District had been replaced by the absolute luxury in Alexander's penthouse. The smell of cheap alcohol from Benjamin's body was gone, replaced by the aroma of thick black coffee. The ex-convict sat in front of three large monitor screens. His fingers typed at an incredible speed.Alexander stood behind him. He sipped his whiskey slowly. The pain in his right thigh still throbbed constantly, but his body posture remained perfectly upright."Marcus is at the peak of his paranoia

"Everything is clear here. Close the door quickly. We still have to check the west wing before the shift change schedule arrives."The heavy voice of one of the security guards echoed briefly inside the dim master bedroom."You're being too paranoid tonight. Who could possibly come up to the fortieth floor undetected by Nolan Reed's alarm system," answered the second guard with a tone of voice that sounded very lazy and dismissive."Mr. Marcus doesn't pay us handsomely to relax. Just close the door and let's get out of here."The mechanical click of the mahogany door being pulled shut finally ended the tension that was almost about to explode. The boot steps of the two armed men gradually distanced and faded in the outer hallway.Inside the very dark teak wood wardrobe, Alexander Hale held his breath until his lungs felt like they were burning. He pushed the wardrobe door slowly. The former Shadow Emperor stepped out through the rows of h

The Doberman stood stiffly, its black nose less than a hand's span away from the dress curtain hiding Alexander Hale's face. A low growl vibrated in the throat of the predatory animal. Alexander held his breath. His left hand gripped the handle of the karambit knife on his utility belt tightly. If the dog barked or pulled Elena's dress, Alexander would have less than a second to dart out, sever the dog's vocal cords, and plunge his knife into the guard's carotid artery. This espionage operation would be ruined and turn into a bloodbath that would attract the entire London police force.The security guard aimed his tactical flashlight, its beam sweeping the edge of the vanity where Alexander was hiding."What is it, Max. Do you smell something over there." asked the guard, stepping closer with a finger ready on the trigger of his automatic pistol.Alexander's military brain raced to find a non-lethal solution. He remembered the arrangement of items on the vanity before he hid. On the

Alexander Hale removed the wireless headphones from his ears. He sipped the rest of his morning coffee with absolute satisfaction. The poison of paranoia had worked perfectly inside his enemy's head. Now, the former Shadow Emperor only needed to sit quietly in his luxurious penthouse and watch the poison destroy their alliance on the main stage.At the same time, on the top floor of the Vanguard Equities skyscraper.The air inside the executive meeting room felt incredibly heavy and suffocating. The long oval glass table was surrounded by twelve shareholder board members. They sat with stiff posture, staring straight at the presentation screen displaying the first-quarter financial graphs.Marcus Trent stood at the end of the table. His appearance was very far from professional this morning.His expensive suit looked wrinkled. His shirt was slightly messy at the collar. Marcus's eyes were bloodshot, adorned with pitch-black eyebags. The man hadn't

"You have truly lost your mind, Marcus."Gregory Holt stood up from his chair, his face hardened with anger and disgust. The minority shareholder old man grabbed his briefcase roughly, slamming the financial report folder onto the glass table."Committing physical violence against your own wife in front of the board of directors in an official meeting. You have not only failed to protect the company's assets from a hack, you just proved that you are mentally unstable to lead us," continued Gregory with the tone of an absolute verdict echoing in the room."I said get out of my room, Gregory. This meeting is over," dismissed Marcus with heavily racing breath. His trembling hand pointed towards the glass door."Oh, we will leave. And prepare to receive a letter of no confidence from all of us. Vanguard Equities' stock will plummet to its lowest point when the news of this shameful scandal leaks to the stock exchange tomorrow morning. Your empire is f