AUTHOR
The air in the library of the Rimestone family's Hamptons estate was thick with the scent of aged leather, fine cigar smoke, and simmering, impotent rage. It was a room designed for old money and quiet power, but tonight, it housed something far more volatile.
Outside, the manicured lawns and the distant roar of the Atlantic Ocean spoke of unparalleled luxury. Inside, a pact of violence was being sealed.
Shunsuke Rimestone stood before a floor-to-ceiling window, his back to the room, a crystal tumbler of thirty-year-old Macallay clenched in his hand.
His reflection in the dark glass showed a face ravaged by fury and fear, the impeccable composure he was known for shattered into a thousand pieces.
"The fire was… a bold statement, Fukuzawa-san," Shunsuke said, his voice a low, strained rumble. He turned to face his guest, his eyes burning with a manic light. "Though I understand the primary target was not present."
