The heavy oak double doors of the penthouse ballroom were thrown open.

A collective, terrified gasp echoed through the crowd as a vanguard of federal authorities, state police officers, and private corporate auditors marched into the room.

Leading the pack was a man whose face had dominated the financial media for two decades.

Victor Sterling.

He wore a dark, bespoke overcoat, his silver hair immaculate, his pale green eyes locked onto Dominic with the precise, calculating gaze of a predator tracking a terminal target.

Flanking him was Marcus Thorn, senior legal counsel for Sterling Capital, and three federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York.