Family.

Future.

Waiters moved through the crowd with trays of champagne.

And at the center of it all, up on the raised VIP terrace, stood Julian Vance himself, in a custom tuxedo, a glass of vintage champagne in his hand, laughing with a knot of corporate investors while camera flashes popped and sparkled around him.

He was, in that moment, the very picture of American success.

Polished, powerful, beloved, untouchable.