By 8:00 a.m., the Halcyon boardroom was full.
Twelve of the most powerful people in the world sat around a table made of obsidian glass flown in from Iceland, each with their own agenda, secrets, and smiles sharpened like knives. The morning briefing had begun, but Alexander Voss wasn't listening.
He was watching.
"...and if we divest before the Asian markets close, we can frame the drop as a strategic repositioning rather than a loss," said Mina Asari, Head of Global Strategy. Cool. Precise. Deadly when she wanted to be.
His eyes flicked to her.
She'd been loyal once. Or at least, she had pretended to be. Lately, she was too polished. Too rehearsed. And her name had come up in the internal audit he hadn't told anyone he commissioned.
But it wasn't just her.
Seated two places down was Jacob Rynes, the company's General Counsel—and the man who had helped Alex bury secrets that could still land them both in prison. He wore the same navy suit he always did, but today his tie was just a shade too bright. A tell. Alex had taught him that.
Someone had leaked the memo.
Someone close.
"Pause the presentation," Alex said suddenly, his voice a blade slicing through the air.
The room froze.
He stood, slow and deliberate, and walked to the far end of the room. A button beneath the table dimmed the lights and shifted the screens.
"Last night, I received a call. Someone out there knows things we've kept locked away. Files. Contracts. Names."
No one moved.
"I will find out who sold us out. And when I do—" his gaze swept the room, "—there won't be a severance package. There won't be a quiet retirement in Zurich. There will be consequences."
Mina's lips barely parted. Jacob looked at the table. Someone else's hand trembled, ever so slightly.
Alex smiled then, cold and knowing.
Because the game had begun.
And this time, he wasn't playing to win.
He was playing to destroy.
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