The boardroom at Avila Tower was thick with tension. Xander sat at the head of the long obsidian table, his expression carved from ice as the latest intelligence report was presented. The numbers were damning.
A powerful rival conglomerate, Vanguard Global, had launched a coordinated assault on several key Avila subsidiaries. Stock prices were under pressure. Major contracts were being poached. Whispers of regulatory investigations — clearly manufactured — were spreading through government circles.
But it wasn’t just business.
Xander’s sharp instincts told him this was personal. Vanguard was secretly backed by old enemies — remnants of rogue packs and disgruntled former allies who had never forgiven the Avila family for their dominance. They had hidden behind corporate shells for years,
