Edward's Point Of View
Luke swallowed hard, his voice barely above a whisper, each word seeming to cost him something. "It's gone, sir. The entire agreement has been revoked. We lost the contract with the government."
The world didn't just tilt; it felt as though someone had yanked the floor from beneath me with a high-speed crane. I stumbled backward, my heel catching on the plush carpet of my office… a carpet that cost more than most people's cars, yet couldn't even keep me upright in this moment.
I reached out desperately, my fingers scraping against the cold, smooth edge of the mahogany desk, seeking any kind of anchor in a suddenly unstable reality. The polished wood felt alien under my touch, as if even the familiar objects in my own office had turned against me.
