The town car glided seamlessly through the bustling downtown traffic, the tinted windows offering Clara a muted view of the city she was about to conquer. The adrenaline that had surged through her veins when the heavy mahogany doors of her former home slammed shut on Sloane was beginning to level o

The Sterling Acquisition Gala was the crown jewel of the tech industry’s social calendar, a massive, opulent affair held in the grand ballroom of the city’s most prestigious hotel. It was a night of champagne, high-stakes networking, and corporate pageantry. Tonight, it was meant to be Julian Vance’

The ballroom descended into absolute chaos.

Camera flashes exploded like strobe lights, blinding in their intensity. Reporters shouted over one another, desperately trying to hurl questions at the stage. The venture capitalists in the front rows were already aggressively texting their risk-managem