Utter sat alone in his office, his fingers drumming against the polished surface of his desk. The rhythmic tapping was the only sound in the room, the silence almost deafening. His mind raced with thoughts of the competition, of Kim and Riele—his rivals who always seemed to be a step ahead. It felt like no matter what he did, they had an advantage. They were always one move ahead, calculating their next step before he had even finished his current one.

And now, Utter had been chasing after ...