Chapter 746

• Chapter Seven Hundred and Forty Six
• The mahogany-paneled boardroom of the Veyron Manor, which had stood for decades as a sanctuary of untouchable wealth, was now a theater of the absurd. The Director of the State Auction House stepped onto the plush carpet with a confidence that bordered on the divine. His chin was held high, his posture straight, and his eyes swept the room with a cold, analytical precision.
• Behind him, his aides adjusted their coats, one of them subtly stabilizing a high-resolution secret camera concealed within a button, while outside, the media vans he had orchestrated were already broadcasting the live chaos from the Respite Zones. Yet, internally, the Director was navigating a fog. He knew he was here on Lucas’s orders. He knew he had to show his face, but as he stared at the carnage of the Veyron family’s pride, he was still searching for the killing blow he was supposed to deliver.