At that moment, it wasn’t just a statement. It was a promise. A war cry.

And Michael Helwart, unflinching and unsmiling, had drawn the first line in the sand.

How could he not see it?

Michael Helwart sat with the practiced calm of a man used to controlling rooms, commanding board meetings, silencing opposition with the turn of his head or the slow click of his pen. But right now, at this very dinner table in the Helwart residence, his authority ...