My Omega Returned to Burn It Down novel · Chapter 5 of 21

Chapter 5: The Motion That Names Nobody

The council chamber was full, which was how Gideon liked it.

The pack elder stood at the lectern in a deep green suit, the silver wolf's head on his lapel catching the midday light that fell through the high windows. His hands were spread, his smile was warm, and his voice carried to the back of the room without effort.

'We are not here to accuse anyone,' he said. 'We are here to protect what generations of Wrens have built.'

Alex sat in the public gallery, third row, near the aisle. He had chosen the seat deliberately. From here he could see the faces of every council member, the way their eyes moved when Gideon spoke, the small shifts in posture that said who was already committed.

Gideon touched his lapel pin.

'For too long, Ironveil City has allowed outside interests to acquire positions of quiet influence within our economic infrastructure,' Gideon continued. 'Not through force. Through paperwork. Through shell companies and holding structures that obscure the true owner. These are not enemies at our gates. They are already inside the walls.'

Alex did not move. The gold thread at his wrist stayed dark, because Caspian was not in the room. That was one mercy. The other was that Gideon had not looked at him once since the session began, and that was not mercy at all. That was strategy. A man who does not look at you is a man who has already decided where you stand.

'This motion,' Gideon said, 'would restrict non-pack-member financial activity in key sectors of our city. It would require full disclosure of beneficial ownership for any holding company operating within pack jurisdiction. And it would give the council the authority to freeze assets pending review.'

He paused. Let the room absorb it.

'It is a prudent measure,' he said. 'Nothing more.'

Three years gone, and Gideon was still the best liar Alex had ever met.

The motion was not prudent. It was a scalpel. Every term in it had been cut to fit Alex's holding company exactly. The disclosure requirement would strip his shell corporation to the bone. The asset freeze authority would let Gideon's people seize the tribunal hall before Alex could liquidate anything. And the restriction on non-pack-member financial activity would make it illegal for Alex to move money through any channel Gideon's office could monitor.

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