The first signs were small.
So small that most people missed them.
A factory hiring twenty new workers in the eastern province. A shipping company expanding operations along the southern coast.
A construction firm reopening projects that had sat abandoned for years. ndividually, none of it seemed remarkable.
Together, however, they were beginning to form a pattern. And patterns mattered.
Especially in economics.
Three months after Sebastian Ravenscroft took office, Valenridge was starting to change. Not dramatically. Not overnight.
Real change rarely worked that way.
But it was happening. One decision at a time. One investment at a time. One job at a time.
Inside the Presidential Estate, Sebastian sat in the strategy room reviewing the latest economic report. Vice President Elena Marris occupied the seat beside him.
Chairman Elias sat across from them.
Several senior advisers lined the table.
