Arthur stood in the glass tower that overlooked Manhattan, watching the skyline glitter like a crown of jewels. The steel skyscrapers rose like bones piercing the sky—an empire of human ambition. The ports and highways carried oil and goods like veins filled with blood, pumping life into the continent.
But Arthur knew the truth that others only whispered: bones and blood were meaningless without a heart to circulate them.
That heart was finance.
Wall Street wasn't merely a collection of banks and hedge funds—it was the throbbing organ that decided which bones would grow stronger and which veins would run dry. A steel giant could crumble if credit lines collapsed. An oil empire could suffocate if its debts were called in. Armies of workers, corporations, and even governments rose or fell depending on the beat of this hidden heart.
Arthur smiled as he stepped into the heart's chambers.
Through shell companies, proxy firms, and a network of loyal traders bound by his Unbreakable Vow, Arthur now controlled the pulse of entire industries. If steel was bones, oil was blood, then Arthur's hands pressed firmly against the world's chest—he could accelerate the rhythm or stop it altogether.
His empresses understood this differently.
Bianca, the Empress of Economy, became the left ventricle, pushing capital into the global markets with precision.
Foxy, overseeing the stock market, became the right ventricle, controlling speculation, investments, and the frenzy of traders.
Vivian, in politics, acted as the arteries—ensuring governments themselves bent to the beat Arthur dictated.
Together, they made sure that no rival family, no billionaire dynasty, no hidden cabal could outpace him.
In the world's boardrooms, whispers spread: Arthur Ashford was not just building monopolies—he was becoming the heartbeat of civilization.
Every loan issued, every bond traded, every market crash and recovery now pulsed to his rhythm. He didn't need to conquer cities with armies—he conquered them by deciding whether their financial veins would be filled with prosperity or starved of oxygen.
For the first time, Arthur realized something that sent a shiver down his spine:
"With steel, I broke their bones. With oil, I filled their veins. But with finance… I became their heart."
And a heart that could stop beating at will… was a god in human flesh.