Chapter 286: Leonard Reed

Yet Jason's tone remained glacial and unyielding. "These are the wishes of Loyalty Group's chairman - to extend our partnership with the Brown Group."

Jack, too, ascended the dais, his words resonating with finality. "The chairman's decree is our edict. Any who cannot accept this reality must await the next opportunity. But those unwise enough to instigate unrest shall forever forfeit any future considerations."

They were Loyalty Group, no mere provincial upstart - their ambitions answered to no external authority. If the paramount houses failed to secure the initial portions, whose failing was that? Not even the formidable Turners could cow them through empty bravado.

Indeed, neither Turners nor Reeds dared jeopardize their coveted Loyalty prospects through reckless belligerence. Though resentful over their failure to claim the proverbial cake, outright hostility remained an intolerable risk.

To have such tantalizing riches dangle before their eyes, only to witness them snatche