The Price of Power

The air in Julian’s study was thin, stripped of the oxygen that usually sustained a man of his stature. He stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, his back to the room, watching the city lights blink with an indifference that felt personal. He had been the predator of this market for a decade; now, he was its primary prey.

"The board didn't just strip my seat, Elara," he said, his voice a low, gravelly vibration. He didn't turn. "They liquidated the Thorne contingency fund to cover the losses created by the V

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