Chapter 14 - The Underworld Whispers
Rumors spread fast in the criminal underworld, and even faster in corporate boardrooms. The alliance between the pristine Sterling Enterprises and the ruthless Thorne Syndicate sent shockwaves through both arenas.
Clara Vance was no longer just a wealthy widow; she was untouchable.
Rival cartels who thought Elias was getting soft soon found their shipments intercepted by highly coordinated corporate security forces. Corrupt politicians who tried to pressure Clara into bad deals found themselves blackmailed with evidence procured by Elias’s network of spies.
It was a flawless symbiosis of white-collar power and black-market muscle.
But power always breeds envy.
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Deep in the industrial district, a meeting was taking place. Viktor Volkov, a Russian arms dealer who had long despised Elias's monopoly over the ports, was gathering his captains.
"Thorne is distracted by the woman," Volkov sneered, slamming a fist onto a rusty oil drum. "He thinks wearing a suit makes him a king. We hit them where it hurts. We take the ports, and we take the widow."
