The roar of the Audi R8's engine was a sharp, mechanical contrast to the refined silence of the gallery. Up ahead, the headlights of the RS 6 cut through the Veyra night, the two bodyguards inside keeping a steady pace as the lead vehicle.
Behind the wheel of the R8, Elias drove with a focused intensity, his eyes constantly checking the mirrors. Jake sat in the passenger seat, the flickering streetlights casting long, jagged shadows across his face as he scrolled through his phone.
The digital world was already in a frenzy. Financial blogs and news sites were having a field day with the "Sterling Humiliation." One headline on Veyra Financial simply read: Sterling Buys Back His Own Pride for 1.3 Billion. Another from The Daily Ledger was more pointed: The Billion-Mark Warning: Rivers Asserts Dominance.
Jake let out a short, dry laugh, the sound hollow in the dark cabin. "Dominance," he muttered sarcastically. "He should have just cooperated. It would've been best for him."
