The ballroom fell into a silence so profound you could hear a pin drop. It was a vacuum of shock, sucking the air out of the room.
Five years ago, Ethan Wolfe had exploded onto the scene with a hit TV drama that swept across The Republic like a wildfire. He became an overnight sensation, the face of a generation. At that time, the Lynch Group was at its zenith, a titan of industry in Northriver.
They had spent millions on a marketing campaign to announce Ethan as their new brand ambassador. Billboards were rented, commercials were filmed, and the hype was astronomical.
But then, abruptly, the deal was dead.
The Lynch Group canceled the contract without explanation. Rumors swirled in the tea houses and boardrooms of Northriver. Some said it was a money dispute; others whispered about cr
