Chapter 36: THE COLLAPSE

The sound of the wind howling outside my apartment was the only thing keeping me grounded. I hadn’t slept at all since the confrontation with Daniel. His cryptic words about a secret child, the promise of more revelations at the warehouse tonight—everything was eating away at me. But it was the weight of the growing scandals surrounding his empire that made my heart race with an overwhelming sense of dread.

For the past few days, Daniel’s business had been falling apart at the seams. Every news outlet in the city had something new to report—fraud accusations, insider trading allegations, shady deals that had come to light. The vultures were circling, and it seemed like every part of Daniel’s empire was collapsing faster than anyone could have predicted.

I poured myself a cup of coffee, my hands shaking slightly. The bitter scent filled the air, but it did little to calm the storm raging inside me. I hadn’t heard from Daniel since our tense conversation in his office, but I knew tonigh