Jasmine's POV
The moment Ares hung up the call with a clipped, "We'll talk later." I felt something inside me shift. His voice had been tight, cold, almost hollow. The board vote had gone against him… I could hear the weight in every word.
I stood there in my apartment, clutching my phone so tightly my fingers hurt. The city buzzed faintly outside my window… distant honks, soft hums, a motorcycle ripping down the street… but none of it drowned the sinking feeling in my chest.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
I grabbed my jacket, slung it over my shoulder, and headed out. I was not going to sit still while everything collapsed around us.
I drove straight to Duvall Tower… late as it was, the place still breathed with life. Security guards nodded at me stiffly, almost too stiffly, and it made my stomach twist.
I knew board members. I had met most of them. But the vote… the sudden shift… the cold precision?
It didn't make sense.
Not unless someone was pulling strings.
