The ballroom of the Grand Hyatt was a universe away from the garage. Here, the air wasn't thick with the smell of stale coffee and soldering fumes, but with the crisp, electric scent of ambition. It was a sea of bespoke suits and quiet confidence, where fortunes were decided with a handshake and empires were dismantled over canapés. I moved through it not as an intruder, but as a predator in her natural habitat. This was my world. Julian had only ever been a tourist in a cheap souvenir T-shirt.
I was deep in conversation with Kenji Tanaka, a titan in the quantum computing space, discussing the ethical implications of his latest breakthrough. He was listening with rapt attention, not because I was Robert Sterling’s daughter, but because I was the Senior Partner at Apex Capital who understo
