The Wednesday morning sun hit the glass façade of the newly rechristened Golden Sheele Corp headquarters, casting long shadows across the plaza that had been overrun by media only twenty-four hours prior. By eight in the morning, the reporters had thinned, replaced by a steady stream of middle managers, division directors, and department heads arriving for an unscheduled mandatory assembly in the main executive auditorium.
The atmosphere inside the building was thick with intense anticipation. Staff members huddled in quiet clusters near the elevators, whispering in muted tones. The sudden, total collapse of the Newman family had sent shockwaves through every subsidiary, from logistics dispatchers in the industrial port districts to regional retail managers.
Inside the executive suite on the sixty-fifth floor, silence reigned.
