Chapter 55 First Encounter

• Inside the lavishly decorated banquet hall, a constellation of the city's most glamorous and influential figures clustered together in small, intimate circles. They exchanged whispers and laughter, their conversations flowing as smoothly as the expensive wine in their hands.
• When Chadwick and Kathleen made their entrance, the ripple they caused through the crowd was minimal, almost non-existent. Chadwick's anonymity in this circle of elites worked against him, rendering him virtually invisible. As for Kathleen, despite bearing the Castillo name—a name of considerable weight in Strico—her hold over Imperial Group did little to elevate her status in the eyes of the city's upper echelon.
• In stark contrast, Hector, who had preceded them into the hall, appeared to be in his prime.