“Take your junk and get out of my house. Now.”The porcelain shattered across the marble floor, splashes of meat sauce staining the tip of Robert’s leather shoes. The clinking of cutlery along the long dining table stopped completely. A dozen invited guests froze in their seats.Robert stood rigid, the veins in his neck bulging, his index finger pointed straight at Ethan, who stood motionless in the corner of the dining room.“For ten years, I took you in,” Robert hissed, his voice heavy and pressing. “For ten years, I fed you. And you dare think you’re worthy of sitting beside my colleagues?”Ethan stared at the stain on Robert’s shoes. He swallowed, a bitter taste tightening his throat. His hands clenched at his sides, his nails digging into his palms. He did not say a word. Slowly, his gaze lifted and locked onto the middle-aged man.“Answer me.” Robert’s voice cut through the silence. “Are you mute?”“I was cleaning the table.” Ethan stood straight, meeting his gaze. “I didn’t ask

“To the new Sterling Group.” Robert’s voice cut through the hum of conversation in the upper-floor ballroom.He raised his champagne glass. “And of course… to cleaner air without parasites.”The clink of crystal was followed immediately by collective laughter. It was a little too loud, a little too long, coming from dozens of colleagues who had been competing for the closest positions to the main table.The cold air from the conditioning system seemed overpowered by the dense mix of musk, baccarat perfume, and the sweetness of alcohol blending with the guests’ breath.Robert stood at the center of the circle, completely at ease as the axis of the evening. His black bespoke suit fit him perfectly, letting the applause echo for a moment before he spoke again.“Tonight is not just a business celebration.” Robert turned slightly, pride etched clearly at the corners of his aging eyes.“This is about restoring the proper order. My own flesh and blood has finally returned to reclaim his posi

“How can thousands of tons of our steel be held at the port?”Robert Sterling’s voice did not rise, but the chill in his tone was enough to suffocate the room.Shipping documents were scattered across his mahogany desk. The middle-aged man leaned back, exhaling sharply as his eyes locked onto the young man across from him.Liam said nothing. He lowered his gaze to the marble floor, his fingers unconsciously brushing the edge of his collar, which suddenly felt too tight.“Last night you said the logistics were handled,” Robert pressed. He threw a red folder across the desk. It slid and fell to the floor. “Explain.”“Customs is holding the permit. They suddenly demanded documents with an official wet stamp from the ministry,” Liam replied, forcing his voice to remain steady. “I met the port chief this morning and offered a cash compensation. He refused.”Robert let out a dry laugh, empty of humor.“Of course he refused. Do you think bribing a high-level bureaucrat is the same as tipping

The basement smelled of dampness and cigarette smoke. Liam pressed his fingers against his temples, staring blankly at the rows of red code flashing rapidly across the monitor.On the concrete floor, the Consortium hacker stopped typing. The sharp clatter of his mechanical keyboard fell silent.“Did you break through?” Liam demanded.The skinny man swallowed hard. “The Apex system... it is not what we expected. Someone is reversing our attack.”“You said it would take five minutes.”“There is someone in there holding it off manually!” the hacker snapped, his fingers flying frantically over the keys again.“Damn it. Damn it. They have planted a tracker.”Liam froze. “They know we are here?”“In two minutes, the coordinates of this house will be locked in.”A curse slipped from Liam’s mouth. He kicked a stack of cardboard boxes beside the desk, sending their contents scattering across the floor. The cramped room suddenly felt suffocating.“Move the money now,” Liam hissed.“The secure r

The steel door was already halfway open before Robert’s hand even touched it. He froze at the threshold. His mind needed a few extra seconds to process what his eyes were seeing. The metal shelves inside the vault stood hollow, the velvet boxes that were supposed to hold gold bars now scattered across the floor like trash.He stepped forward in a daze, his fingers brushing against the cold top shelf, as if hoping his eyes were deceiving him and the items were still there. Empty. Only a thin layer of dust clung to his fingertips.No. Impossible.The words screamed in his mind, but his lips were too numb to make a sound.The insane debt figures from last night’s auction spun wildly in his head. The bank’s phone calls. The deadlines. He had come down to this study at dawn to retrieve land certificates as his last collateral. Now? He had nothing.Panic crept in as a cold sensation that spread quickly from the back of his neck through his entire body. The air in the room suddenly felt too