The heavy oak doors of the private dining room clicked shut behind them, muffling the low murmur of the restaurant floor. Sarah smoothed the front of her coat, still shaking her head in disbelief as they stepped toward the lobby."Honestly, Michael, that dessert alone was pure art," she said, her voice bright with genuine wonder. "I don’t think I’ve ever tasted anything quite that rich."Michael offered an easy grin, though his eyes remained observant, scanning the corridor. "Really? To be frank, I thought the sauce was a little flat. It lacked balance."Sarah stopped in her tracks, giving him a look that hovered between amusement and maternal skepticism. "Flat? Michael, it’s the most expensive meal I’ve had in my entire life. If that was flat, I’d hate to see what you actually consider good.""Then next time," Michael chuckled, gently steering her toward the exit, "I’ll find a place that really sets the bar.""You will do no such thing," Sarah chided, though the warmth in her eyes be

The host's words were still hanging in the air.Everyone in the hall was looking toward the entrance, waiting for the mysterious new majority shareholder to appear.Michael remained where he was.He stood near the side of the hall, one hand resting casually in his pocket, watching the crowd instead of the doors.The host looked toward the entrance again.A few seconds passed.Nothing happened.People began whispering.“Where is he?”“Maybe he's not here yet.”“I heard he was definitely attending.”“Then why hasn't he come in?”Michael almost laughed.I'm already here.The host cleared his throat and tried to keep the situation under control.“Please remain seated. Our guest will be joining us shortly.”The lights returned to their normal brightness.The room slowly filled with quiet conversations again.Michael looked around.This wasn't some small company gathering.Visteria had gone all out.The main hall had been transformed into something that looked more like a major corporate ce

The host announced another segment.“Before we introduce our new majority shareholder, we'd like to hear from several members of Visteria's senior management.”One by one, executives were invited to the stage.Michael watched carefully.A regional director spoke about the company's expansion.A hotel manager talked about customer service.A financial executive discussed the company's recent performance.Michael noticed something immediately.The speeches sounded polished.Too polished.Nobody mentioned the problems.Nobody mentioned the $13.7 million monthly loss.Nobody mentioned supplier complaints.Nobody mentioned inefficient management.Nobody mentioned Marcus Hale.Michael wasn't surprised.A welcome event wasn't the place where executives would openly discuss problems.Still, it told him something.People were protecting the company's image.That wasn't necessarily bad.But Michael wanted to know what they were hiding behind that polished image.Then the host said something tha