"If I were afraid, I'd have no business holding this office in the first place." Ambrose lifted his chin with a quiet smile, his voice steady and unhurried. "I intend to fight them to the finish, every last one of these parasites, until they're rooted out for good."
Serena Frost studied him for a long moment. The young man seated across from her did not fidget, did not glance away. There was no bravado in his expression, only a calm, settled certainty that reminded her of a blade drawn without ceremony. She had spent years surrounded by men who wielded authority like a costume, and she could recognize the difference between performance and conviction at a glance. After what felt like a full minute, she raised her thumb in a slow, deliberate gesture of approval.
Then she leaned forward, h
