city buzzed with

gement to Marc

Future Foundation, the primary channel for o

the cho

odest background. They dug into his history, finding an old, forgotten alliance between the

te. A humiliated,

tand it. How could

. Texting. Appeari

ase. We ne

stake, Izzy.

right for

t was relentl

She was at Ethan's side, her face a mask of concern

e saw me. He talked to her

ped me, Izzy? You gifted me suc

satisfaction. "Audacious fool," he'd muttered after t

r me, once unspoken, was now a quiet certainty in his eyes

y making waves, his projects focused on

n years, not even in the early

p with Sarah became a public spectacle of toxicity. H

initiatives, clumsy, desperate att

scandals started to cling to her name, whispers of manipulation, of trying

t watching it unfold in this

business and political machine, had

lled me int

I had a... feeling. A strong one. About

t need to. I saw it in his eyes – a

e was already moving, using his connections, his cunning. The American equivalent of