Chapter 1: Five Minutes
The instant Grayson crushed the telephone beneath his polished shoe, silence settled over the library.
Then came another sound.
A deep vibration rolled through Ravenshore's marble foundation.
Every crystal glass in the ballroom trembled.
The string quartet stopped playing.
Outside, headlights swept across the mansion's towering columns.
Not one car.
Not five.
An entire convoy.
Black SUVs surrounded the estate with military precision, their engines shutting off in perfect sequence.
The guests drifted toward the enormous front windows, confused whispers replacing polite conversation.
"What is this?"
"Is there a security issue?"
"Who's arriving?"
Grayson frowned.
He had spent thirty years making powerful people come to him.
No one arrived at Ravenshore uninvited.
The front doors opened.
Not violently.
Smoothly.
Deliberately.
The room fell silent as Dominic Kane walked inside.
He wore a perfectly tailored charcoal overcoat over a black suit.
No raised voice.
No visible anger.
Only absolute control.
Behind him stood dozens of disciplined security professionals.
Every one of them remained perfectly still.
Dominic removed his leather gloves.
"Good evening."
His calm voice echoed through the ballroom.
"I'm here for Harper Langford."
Grayson laughed.
"You don't have a warrant."
"I don't need one."
May you like
Dominic looked toward the staircase.
"I was invited."
