The news hit the financial networks like a seismic shockwave.

By noon, the chyrons on every major news channel were scrolling the same devastating headline: *THORNE DEVELOPMENTS CEO ARRESTED FOR FEDERAL FRAUD; VANGUARD HOSPITALITY SECURES BILLION-DOLLAR ASSETS.*

Within two hours of the arrest, Th

The grand ballroom of the Vanguard Plaza Hotel was a sea of flashing cameras, murmuring reporters, and high-society elites. The crystal chandeliers cast a brilliant, glittering light over the room, illuminating the massive Vanguard Hospitality logo projected onto the backdrop of the main stage.

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