I looked toward the street where black sedans moved between taxis.
You think this is over?
“Yes,” I said. “I heard.”
Evelyn’s expression tightened. “Men like Jamal rarely build operations alone.”
Part 5
By 5:30 that evening, I was back in my office on the forty-first floor of Aegis Financial Security.
The skyline glowed copper outside the glass walls.
Lake Michigan looked cold and endless.
My employees moved quietly in the outer workspace, pretending not to stare when I passed. Most of them knew only that I had been in court. A few senior executives knew more.
None of them knew everything.
That was how I preferred it.
Power worked best when it did not announce itself too early.
I closed my office door and removed my blazer.
For the first time all day, my hands trembled.
Not from fear.
From the delayed violence of survival.
I had sat across from my parents while they called me insane.
