The silence in the VanceTech master boardroom was no longer just the absence of sound; it was a physical weight, a crushing atmospheric pressure that pinned every executive to their seat. The twelve board members, individuals who collectively commanded hundreds of billions of dollars in global assets, were reduced to terrified spectators in the court of a resurrected king.
Edward Vance sat at the head of the thirty-foot petrified redwood table. He didn't speak immediately. He let the silence stretch, weaponizing the tension. His dark, piercing eyes moved deliberately from one face to the next, performing a silent, agonizing audit of their loyalty. When his gaze passed over them, seasoned billionaires averted their eyes, suddenly fascinated by the digital displays embedded in the wood befo
