Katarina woke up with two problems.
Problem one: Stellara Brevaine now controlled most of the independent trade infrastructure in the southeastern district. Warehouse leases, supplier contracts, distribution rights, carriage services. The woman had swept the auction like she was grocery shopping and the rest of the district was about to discover that the cost of doing business had just gone up.
Problem two: Vessa's boobs kept getting bigger.
This was not a strategic concern. This was a biological reality that Katarina's hormonal body had decided was extremely relevant to its interests, and no amount of corporate discipline could override the part of her brain that kept replaying the neckline of that blue dress.
She sat at her desk, pulled the Greypass route documents toward her, and started outlining a security assessment framework.
