Instantly, the room fell silent. The temperature shifted and conversations died. Chairs scraped as everyone straightened up and took their seats.
He walked to the front with slow, deliberate steps, eyes sharp but distant.
It had been like this since the turn of the year. Darren had changed.
He was still brilliant, still relentless— but the warmth was gone. No jokes. No personal comments. No offhand glances. He barely saw them as people anymore. Only as roles. Units in motion.
They felt it every day.
And no one dared say it aloud.
He stood at the head of the table, fingers resting on the edge as he looked at them.
But before he could say anything, everyone's phones began to ding.
A wave of notifications rolled through the room.
Rachel checked hers first. Her face stiffened.
"It's an emergency bulletin," she said, reading aloud. "From State Business Authority and Regional Trade Regulation Newswire."
She paused, voice suddenly thinner.
