Chapter One: The Red Words on the Severance Agreement

Northcastle United's glass boardroom hung above the stadium like a transparent coffin. Lin Zheng stood at the far end of the table, the pitch lines visible beyond the windows. Three hours ago, he had been beside that pitch explaining why seventeen-year-old Milo Kovac was worth an immediate twelve-million-euro bid. Now his employee badge lay beside a severance agreement. “You leaked the chief scout's list and started a bidding war,” sporting director Marcus Vale said, folding his hands. “The board requires accountability.” “Only four people could open that list. My access was frozen at eleven last night. The leak went out at eleven forty-seven.”