Morning arrived with numbers instead of sunlight.
Damian read them in silence.
The digital boardroom screen stretched across the wall of his office, glowing with market data that shifted by the second. Red indicators pulsed beside Blackwood Industries’ stock value, each downward movement small on its own but devastating in accumulation.
Another drop.
Another fraction of confidence erased.
Outside the glass tower, the city moved normally. Traffic flowed. Markets opened. People drank coffee unaware that empires could fracture quietly before collapse became visible.
Inside Blackwood headquarters, tension lived in every hallway.
Grant Whitaker, Chief Legal Officer, stood across from Damian holding a tablet.
“Kane Holdings increased its acquisition again overnight,” he said. “Three sepa
