Chapter 23. Cracks in The Empire

“You people must be out of your goddamn minds?!” Hayden thundered, his voice an angry snarl.

On the tablet propped up on the bed stool, six faces of the Oakley Corp's board members blinked back at him from their different pristine offices, all in expensive corporate outfits and neutral expressions.

“Mr Oakley,” the chairman began carefully, “you have to understand the position we are in. The markets, the stocks, even the shareholders are reacting to the news...”

“You mean the fake news,” Hayden snapped, heat rising under his skin. “Some jackass leaks one bullshit story about my death, and suddenly you are all ready to toss me aside like I’m dead already? I told you, it was just a minor incident, and the police are on it already. I am fine.”

A woman in a sharp blazer cleared her throat. “You are blowing this out of proportion. It is