Troy Mendez had built his reputation on control. The grain exchange bowed when he entered, the warehouses moved only with his seal, and the docks carried his name like a law.
For years he ruled by intimidation. Contracts were signed under threat, merchants bullied into silence, and guards bribed into obedience. He liked to call himself a businessman, but everyone in the trade district knew better. Troy Mendez was a predator who fed on grain and coin, and those who resisted were starved into ruin.
He was proud of that reputation. Ruthless. Untouchable.
Until the cracks began to show.
