CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY FOUR – TROUBLE ON THE SET

"Unacceptable! Completely and utterly unacceptable!" Maverick's strident voice echoed across the temporary sound stage that had been erected in a sprawling Tribeca loft space. Kayla winced, her fingers tightening around her lukewarm coffee cup as the filmmaker's latest tirade showed no signs of abating. Despite her vehement protests, the docuseries had careened onward, quickly devolving into a farcical circus presided over by its ringleader Maverick Stone. Most of the survivors had reluctantly agreed to participate, either enticed by the prospect of renown or simply too emotionally drained to mount serious resistance. In the weeks since their contentious first meeting, the once unified group had splintered into distrustful factions - each angling to control their individual portrayal in Maverick's overwrought "narrative." The two remaining CEOs, Samantha Westbrook and Warren Cheng, seemed determined to salvage their battered corporate imaged through a mix of grandiose self-promo