The wail of the sirens grew louder, a mechanical shriek cutting through the pristine alpine silence outside the heavy glass windows of the presidential suite.
Klaus Vinter remained frozen in his high-backed leather chair. The shattered remnants of his teacup lay scattered across the polished hardwood, the dark liquid pooling and soaking into the intricate threads of the Persian rug.
The Chairman of Aegis Global stared at the glowing screen of Ryan's smartphone, his dirty-ice eyes wide, completely paralyzed by the sheer, staggering totality of his destruction.
He hadn't just lost a company. He hadn't just lost a fortune. He had lost his anonymity. The absolute, terrifying immunity that shielded the Grand Syndicate from the consequences of their global shadow war was gone, incinerated in front of the entire World Economic Forum.
