Boss raised his hand, commanding silence. The murmurs slowly died down, every masked head turning to face him as he now stood on the small stone stage at the center of the mansion's backyard.
"Now, I know many of you have been wondering where all your investment has been going," he began, his voice clear and theatrical, carrying effortlessly through the open night air.
A few men chuckled, clearly part of the inner circle.
"Your resources, your connections, your money… What have we been doing with them, hmm?" Boss asked rhetorically, his smile sharp.
Then he extended a hand and pointed to one of the men beside him. "Show them."
The man nodded and stepped forward.
As he moved into the open space, Boss continued speaking to the crowd. "Some of you already know what's going on beneath the surface of this city. Your ears are sharp, and your networks run deep. You've heard the rumors. The whispers of strange things—unexplainable things. Powers."
