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I let out a long breath, hoping to expel the anxiety that instantly besieged h and all that still needed to be done

“Soht?” I asked

“I promise”

I was quiet for a few ht Mostly lost in hoonderful it was to be in his loving, reassuring e his steady breathing warmed and comforted me

Eventually, I said, “I don’t even knohere you go or what you do when you’re with the FBI”

“It’s not just the FBI This is a global proble ain The Feds are labeling it conspiracy, terrorism, and attempted murder if they can prove these assholes were behind the destruction of my hotel There were forty people inside when the ti”

I knew most of this, yetthe fury and the agony in his voice The bunching of his muscles all around me

Dane gently eased h his hand stroked my hair “Ari, sweetheart The only reason I’m away from you and our son is because I already know the impact these people can have on the ide econoain Not like in ’08 Jesus All those lost jobs, all that despair There were suicides because of financial strains and destitution Retirements imploded Foreclosures forced bankruptcy and hory And there are soto recover from that”

I understood this wasn’t just about Dane and the loss of the Lux His dream The poli-econ society he’d secretly been a part of had possessed the ability to effect positive change—that had been the goal for generations Unfortunately, with the sort of intel they’d collected and dissected it was also possible to incite financial ruin, because soood sense and intentions

He said, “The society put extensive effort into keeping disaster fro, trending, analysis, forecasting…” He let out a strangled sound that was full of agitation … and tor hands, it starts the vicious cycle of econole for recovery all over To the benefit of those who are pulling the strings”

I’d always found the concept of “Billionaires’ Clubs” difficult to wrap lomeration of the elite could throw hundreds of millions of dollars at someone in the position of political power and influence in order to advance personal agendas Not those designed for the greater good but for individual gain

Dane had once saidfor soer e power and using it to one’s advantage

His purpose within the society had never been self-serving What Dane and the legit members of the Illuminati bloc had attempted to do was maintain a sound economic environment There would always be an ebb and flow, but a dra could spiral out of control As we’d all experienced not too long ago

Frankly, I never wanted to see people in such dire straits again Nor did Dane Hence the reason the generational society had dissolved Noas just Dane, Ethan Evans, Sultan Qadir Hakis

Soreatly Even if it didnext to me