Chapter 6

Morning sunlight pierced the mist shrouding Midtown Manhattan. This was the crossroads of the world, where inside every skyscraper, games worth billions were being played out.

In the conference room of a top-tier law firm on Park Avenue, the atmosphere was heavy enough to suffocate. The décor screamed "Old Power"—dark mahogany wainscoting, thick Persian rugs, and genuine Hudson River School painti