035

A Game Of Deception

Astor stood at the edge of the ballroom, his sharp eyes scanning the crowd as the hum of chatter and clinking glasses filled the air. On the surface, it was another glittering evening of business and networking, but something felt off.

He had noticed it throughout the night, the way certain associates avoided his gaze or offered stiff, greetings instead of their usual.

There were the murmurs that stopped abruptly when he approached, the polite but distant smiles that didn’t quite seem true.

Astor’s jaw tightened as he took a sip of his drink, the cool liquid doing little to soothe the growing unease in...