Part 2: The Leader Who Became a Slave to Gold
I found myself sitting beside him.
In front of us lay a map—but it wasn’t a world map.
There were no country names, no clear borders.
Instead, scattered across the parchment were strange black markings.
To me, they looked like the legs of a spider.
“What is this?” I asked.
Damian whispered low, almost as if the walls themselves might be listening.
“It’s a map of deals.”
The words stole my breath.
His finger hovered over one of the black marks.
There, I sensed the scent of deserts—something Middle Eastern.
Another mark hinted at a vast, icy land stretching far into the horizon.
“Insider trading?” I asked.
He smiled faintly and gave a small nod.
“My hands are no longer clean.”
The country he once took pride in had been pulled into chaos—by his own doing.
Outwardly, it appeared to be about tariffs and trade.
But behind the curtain, it was all about collapsed stocks and commodities surging in value.
There were shadows—wealthy ones—circling like vultures.
Even without lifting a finger, a single word from him could set the billionaires in motion.
Among them were merchants from an island nation across the sea.
He didn’t name them. He didn’t need to.
The implication seeped through, unspoken but understood.
His family had already reaped vast fortunes from these hidden exchanges.
But in return, he had lost the ability to act on his own.
Now, he was no more than a butterfly caught in a spider’s web.
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