While the Sovereign Diamond Estate sat in silent, gilded triumph atop the ridge, a different kind of silence permeated the Moretti ancestral home. It was the heavy, airless quiet that preceded a controlled demolition.
Inside the mahogany-paneled study, the air tasted of expensive cigars and cold resentment. Mr Moretti, the patriarch, stood by the window, his back to the room. The morning headlines lay scattered across his desk, each one a fresh puncture wound to his pride. “The Zenith Proposal: A New Power Rising?” and “Moretti Heiress Claims the Skyline.”
“She didn't even invite us,” Mr Moretti said, his voice a low, vibrating growl. “The head of Apollo Construction’s most vital redevelopment project, the woman the entire city is watching, and her own father learns of her engagement fro
