The fall of the Anthony Group was no longer just a rumor, it had become a harsh, bitter truth echoing through every corner of Metrocity’s high society. Stock prices had started to tremble, investors were pulling out like rats from a sinking ship, and tonight’s extravagant banquet couldn’t mask the rot eating away at the core of a once-mighty empire. The air was thick with tension and forced laughter, the scent of overpriced wine failing to disguise the underlying stench of desperation.
Michael Eliot leaned against a marble column; he stood silently at the edge of the lavish banquet, his tall frame cloaked in a sleek black suit that matched his mood. His fingers played with the rim of a half-empty glass of red, untouched wine since it was poured. On his other hand, a cigarette smoldered, f
