Friday, 8:00 AM. Vanguard Holdings, 50th Floor.
The atmosphere in the executive suite had shifted overnight. The oppressive, suffocating tension that had hung over the office for the past four days was gone, replaced by a strange, electric anticipation.
I walked out of the private elevator, my footsteps silent on the thick carpet. I was wearing a bespoke, charcoal-grey suit, the fabric cutting a sharp, authoritative silhouette. I didn't need the [Shadow Tuxedo] today. I had something much more powerful than a magical aura. I had leverage.
I walked past Sarah's desk without a word and headed straight for Conference Room B.
I didn't knock. I pushed the heavy glass door open and stepped inside.
Evelyn Cross was standing at the head of the conference table, her posture rigid, her dark eyes blazing with a triumphant, predatory light. Special Agents Miller, Vance, and Cho were gathered around a laptop, looking at a series of printed spreadsheets spread across the mahogany wood.
