The patriarch's phone had not stopped ringing since Kevin's car disappeared through the gates. Victor sat at the head of the table with the device pressed against his ear, listening to a voice that was telling him things he had not expected to hear for weeks."The First Continental accounts are fully operational again, Patriarch." The CFO's voice had dropped from panic to confusion. "All restrictions have been lifted. The compliance review has been closed without findings. And our credit facilities have been restored to their original limits."Victor closed his eyes. "What about the suppliers?""Reynolds Materials called twelve minutes ago. Full deliveries resume tomorrow morning. They apologized for the disruption and offered a fifteen percent discount on the next quarter as a goodwill gesture."Before Victor could respond, Paul Archer held up his phone from across the table. "The Hartfield Investment Group has unfrozen negotiations. They are requesting a meeting first thing tomorrow

The Cross estate stretched across two hundred acres of land that most people in the city did not even know existed. The main building looked like something between a palace and a fortress, surrounded by manicured gardens and guarded by private security wearing earpieces and expressions that discouraged conversation.Forty three luxury vehicles were parked along the main drive. The heirs of every major family in the city had arrived dressed in clothes that cost more than houses, carrying the kind of confidence that comes from never having been told no by anyone who mattered.Kevin stepped out of an ordinary car and walked through the front entrance without looking at the vehicles on either side. Olivia arrived with Tyler, her face set with the focused determination of a woman who needed this opportunity more than she wanted to admit. Ethan Morgan came alone, representing his father. Vincent Crawford appeared in a black suit that fit him like armor. And Isabella Sterling walked through

Alexander Cross stood at the front of the room with a new set of screens behind him, each one displaying the financial profile of a different struggling company. The numbers were ugly. Red ink everywhere. Declining revenues, mounting debts, and employee counts dropping like water through a cracked bucket."Stage two." Alexander's voice cut through the murmuring. "Each of you will receive control of a failing company. You have forty five minutes to increase its value by any means available within the simulation. The participant who produces the highest return advances. The lowest three are eliminated."Olivia grabbed her tablet before Alexander finished speaking. Her eyes were burning with the kind of hunger that only comes from a woman who has already watched her company nearly die once and refuses to let it happen again, even in a simulation.Vincent moved with quiet efficiency, immediately contacting simulated partners through the system and leveraging Crawford Capital's name to sec