*Horizonte Capital Board of Directors calls emergency meeting amid rumors of regulatory investigation.*

The leak had begun.

I stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby.

The elevator descended smoothly, the quiet hum of the machinery the only sound.

I needed to get to my car.

I needed to drive north, away from the chaos that was about to consume Madrid.

Alvaro would find out about Lucía’s deal soon.

He would realize he had been cornered.

And when a man like Alvaro realized he had lost everything, he would look for someone to blame.

I reached the lobby and walked out into the cool, damp air of the Barcelona evening.

I pulled my collar up against the wind.

The street was busy, people rushing home under black umbrellas.

I walked toward my rented car, parked a block away.

My mind was already in Galicia, imagining the quiet of the estate, the sound of the Atlantic ocean in the distance.

I unlocked the car with a quiet beep.

As I sat in the driver’s seat, the dashboard lights illuminated the dark interior.