Chapter 31

For a brief moment, the proud, unshakable Don Zobel looked nothing like the man who once ruled the council chambers and family tables with a single glance. His broad shoulders sagged, just slightly. His hand clenched the cane as though it were the only thing holding him upright, the symbol of authority he’d spent decades projecting. In that instant, stripped of command and posture, he looked like a grandfather who’d arrived too late to a funeral no one warned him about.