Monday, 12:05 PM. The Hart Senate Office Building.
I leaned over Senator Margaret Hale, my hands gripping the armrests of her leather chair, trapping her in her own seat of power. The [Emperor's Presence] flooded the room, a dark, suffocating gravity that pressed against her legendary Willpower.
For thirty years, Margaret Hale had been the apex predator of Washington D.C. She had destroyed careers, orchestrated federal raids, and hoarded billions in dark money. She was the Kingmaker.
But right now, looking up into my eyes, she was just a cornered woman who had realized her armor was gone.
"Step away from the Senator," Harrison Croft snarled from the corner of the room.
I didn't even turn my head to look at him. I kept my eyes locked on Hale's.
"Call off your dog, Margaret," I whispered, my voice perfectly calm. "Before I have Evelyn Cross draft a warrant for his arrest for the attempted murder of a foreign national."
