Ethan POV

I knew.

That was the irony of it all—I knew exactly what Sylvester was doing, every string he was pulling, every shadow he thought he was hiding in. The audits. The leaks. The sudden interest from the board. Even the way the city seemed to close in around me tonight like a clenched fist.

Sylvester always believed power belonged to the man who struck first.

He never understood the advantage of letting your enemy believe he was winning.

I sat in my office long after ...