Thunder rolled over the rolling hills of upstate New York, and rain hammered against the tall windows of the Kensington estate like thrown stones. The sky was a sheet of bruised gray, stretching endlessly above the sprawling mansion that had once symbolized power, success, and unity. That night it felt like a fortress under siege, not from the storm outside, but from betrayal within.
In the master bedroom, Gregory Kensington lay motionless in an oversized bed framed by carved oak and silk curtains. Only a week earlier, his name had filled financial newspapers and television screens. He had been the sharpest strategist on the stock exchange, a man who built companies from dust and bent markets to his will. Then came the mysterious crash of his private aircraft during a routine landing. The news channels reported that he survived, but doctors announced that his spinal injuries left him completely paralyzed from the neck down, unable to move or speak clearly.
The world believed Gregory Kensington was trapped in his body.