As the sleek obsidian coupe hummed with a low-frequency predatory growl, idling in the narrow, soot-stained alleyway of the southwest district, a heavy silence settled over the small group gathered on the sidewalk. Auntie Bailey stared at the matte-black bank card in her hand as if it were a high-tier Rare Artifact capable of altering the fabric of reality. For a woman who had spent the last decade flipping skewers at a BBQ Stall just to keep the city's municipal taxes at bay, the weight of the Shaw family’s promise was almost too much to bear.
Leo Shaw stood beside the open door of the vehicle, his masculine aura amplified by the morning sun reflecting off his tailored blazer. He watched the flicker of doubt, hope, and eventually, a profound, soul-deep relief wash over the older woman’s
