Chapter 65 Old Wounds, New Games

• Mason watched the Lords digest his proposal, their faces a study in barely concealed calculation. The silence stretched like a wire ready to snap. Here he was, playing puppet master to Chicago's most dangerous men, and all he could think about was how far he'd come from that rain-soaked night when his world imploded.
• Life's got one hell of a sense of humor, he mused. Six months ago, he'd been worrying about making rent. Now he was orchestrating a multi-billion dollar tech revolution with the city's most notorious crime lords.
• Mason's grin spread, as the thoughts settled in. His rise to becoming this shrewd operator, this calculated kingpin of the streets, hadn't happened overnight. It took the harsh winds of betrayal and the bitter cold of rejection to forge him. Life had taught him one solid truth - a man only discovers his true mettle when he's cornered like a rat in an alley. Getting backed into a corner didn't break him - it just showed him what he was made of. "Here's to you, Olivia," he thought, raising an imaginary glass. "Your backstabbing was one hell of a wake-up call."