Chapter 25: Lory’s Fear

The room was steeped in the inky embrace of midnight; the silence was only interrupted by the distant hum of the city. Lory Wilson, a man who had navigated the intricate web of corporate dealings with a meticulous hand, found himself ensconced in a restless slumber. The persistent echoes of guilt and past transgressions lingered in the recesses of his dreams, like shadows refusing to be banished by dawn. In the midst of this uneasy repose, the shrill intrusion of his ringing phone sliced through the quiet. Lory, disoriented and grappling with the fragments of his subconscious, fumbled for the device on the bedside table. The stark glow of the screen illuminated the room as he answered the call, the urgency in his friend’s voice sending a tremor down his spine. “Lory, what have you done?” The accusation, laden with incredulity and anger, emanated from the other end of the line. It was a voice Lory recognized—a longtime friend and ally whose trust had, over the years, become an inv