The morning arrived like a polished verdict: grey, cool, with a clarity that made every glass facade along the river slice the sky into clean planes. Marrin watched the city wake from the corner of her office, the skyline a lattice of opportunity and friction. The victory at the shareholders' meeting still hummed under her skin like an instrument warmed up for performance. She had reclaimed the narrative, but reclaiming a company — an empire-in-miniature — required more than a speech. It required a series of precise, relentless actions taken at the right rhythm.
Today she would step fully into the role she had rehearsed in countless sleepless simulations. Today she would assume direct command of Project Lion — the logistics and infrastructure initiative that had been promised to the board
