Bound by shadows

"What nonsense are you spewing, Samuel?” Victoria’s voice cracked across the polished mahogany boardroom like a whip. Her diamond-studded hand slapped against the table, making the glass of water before her tremble. The widow’s eyes, sharp as cut steel, despite the deep shadows of grief etched, glared at the lawyer. The room went silent. Not a single cough or shuffle of papers. The board members, men in dark suits and expensive ties, shifted uneasily in their chairs. Some avoided her gaze, staring instead at the thick document Samuel held open in his steady hands. Samuel adjusted his glasses, unflinching under Victoria’s fury. He had faced courts filled with predatory businessmen, clawing divorcees, and greedy heirs, but Victoria De Luca’s fire was a force stronger than many. Her black dress clung to her tall frame, elegance sharpened by the fury rolling off her. “It is not nonsense, Mrs. De Luca,” Samuel replied evenly, keeping a strong and calm aura. “These are the exact words of your late husband, Carlos. I have no liberty to modify them.” Victoria leaned forward, her eyes narrowing into slits. “Carlos was a proud man. A practical man. He would never… never… tie his empire to such… ridiculous conditions.” Across the table, Trish shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She was barely twenty-five, Lisa’s childhood friend turned assistant, her notebook open before her but forgotten. Her pen had slipped from her hand when Samuel began to read. She kept her head down, though her heart was pounding. If Lisa were here… oh God, if Lisa were here… But Lisa wasn’t. She had no idea her life was being discussed today. It's only normal seeing as her mom has never involved her in the matters of the family business. Trish sat as her proxy, every bit of information digging into her skin like thorns. Samuel cleared his throat, his tone deliberate, calm, and practiced. “I shall read again, Mrs. De Luca, for the avoidance of doubt. ‘To my beloved daughter, Lisa De Luca, I leave controlling shares of De Luca Holdings, on the condition that she fulfils the agreement herein. Should she refuse, those shares shall be dissolved into the board’s collective trust.’” Murmurs erupted immediately. The directors exchanged glances, some suppressing smirks, others leaning forward, like wolves catching the scent of weakness. Victoria’s nostrils flared. She slammed the table. “This is absurd! Samuel, Carlos entrusted you with his affairs for decades. "Are you seriously telling me my daughter’s inheritance, her birthright has been reduced to some… conditional transaction?” Samuel’s gaze did not waver. “I am bound to disclose the full terms.” He glanced down at the paper, flipping the page with deliberate slowness. The sound of the paper flipping seemed to echo in the silent room. “Continue,” one of the board members said. A stocky man with a wide tie and greedy eyes. “Let’s hear it.” Victoria shot him a death-glare that could’ve melted iron, but she turned back to Samuel, folding her arms tightly. The lawyer adjusted his tie, then read aloud, his voice slicing through the tension: “‘My daughter, Lisa, shall inherit my controlling shares and assume her rightful place as Chairperson of De Luca Holdings, provided.. He paused and tension filled the room; this time it was heavier and suffocating…she marries the man I have deemed worthy. Only upon this union will her inheritance be fully and irrevocably granted.’” The room exploded. Gasps. Whispers. The scrape of chairs as men leaned forward, throwing their voices over one another. “What the hell does that mean?” “Marry? "Is this a board meeting or a fairy tale?” “Carlos has lost his damned mind from the grave!” “This changes everything” Trish sat frozen as fear enveloped her. She wasn't afraid of the outcome; it was what Lisa would do. Every word was crashing into her like a wave. Marry? He expects Lisa to marry for the company? She glanced nervously at Victoria, whose lips had thinned to a dangerous line. “Silence!” Victoria snapped, rising to her feet. Her presence dominated the room, silencing every mutter. Her nails dug into the wood of the chair. She turned her burning gaze on Samuel. “You will explain this farce. Now.” Samuel did not falter, though his fingers tapped once against the edge of the page before stilling. “Mrs. De Luca, Carlos was of sound mind when this will was drafted. He was deliberate. He foresaw turbulence, power struggles, perhaps. He trusted one man, and only one man, to ensure Lisa’s happiness and the stability of this company.” “Who?” Victoria’s voice was sharp, clipped. The board members leaned forward like spectators awaiting a scandal. Samuel looked up from the paper, his gaze steady but heavy with implication. He paused, letting the weight of suspense draw out, thick and suffocating. “He named that man in a sealed envelope. It will be revealed when the time is right.” Victoria’s breath caught. Her fingers twitched, itching to rip the papers from his hands, if possible rip him into pieces as well. “You’re telling me… my daughter’s future, her freedom, this company's future rests in a sealed envelope? Do you hear yourself, Samuel? Carlos is gone. He cannot dictate her life from the grave!” Trish’s throat had gone dry. She stared at the table, unable to look up. Her mind spun questions, fears, flashes of Lisa’s face when she will hear this. How would she tell her? One of the board members chuckled darkly. “This is brilliant, actually. If Lisa refuses, the shares fall into our hands. Carlos might as well have gifted us the company.” Another laughed. “Indeed." And if she agrees? Who’s to say this… mystery man… won’t eat her alive?” The room hummed with ugly laughter, though some directors stayed silent, calculating. Victoria’s eyes blazed. She whirled on the board. “Enough! This is my husband’s empire. My daughter’s inheritance. Not one of you jackals will touch it.” Her words hung in the air like daggers. Samuel exhaled slowly, closing the will with finality. “I have delivered the message I was bound to. The choice lies with Lisa now. The envelope will be opened only when she is present.” Trish’s head jerked up. Lisa. Oh, God. The boardroom door creaked open suddenly, and everyone’s heads snapped toward the sound. A young assistant poked her head in timidly. “Mrs. De Luca… the press is outside. They’re asking about the will.” Victoria’s jaw tightened. The room’s tension shifted into something sharper, more dangerous. She turned back to Samuel, her voice low, venomous. “This is not the end." You will regret humiliating my family with this circus, Samuel. I swear it.” The lawyer held her gaze, silent. “Tell them I will be with them in a minute”. Victoria ordered her secretary, preparing to leave the room. She walked up slowly towards the lawyer, locking eyes with Samuel. She was a few inches away from him, she leaned towards him and swiped the will from him, eyes still locked. She tore the paper into two. “ A word about any of this to anyone… especially Lisa and you will be next…. She turned to the rest of the men in suits… and that goes for the rest of you," she ordered, not even blinking. The board members whispered among themselves, like hyenas circling carrion. And Trish, hands trembling beneath the table, thought only of Lisa—the heiress who had no idea that her father’s last words had just chained her future to a faceless man’s shadow. -- As Victoria stormed out, the toned-up will clutch in her hand like a weapon, Trish gathered her scattered notes. She reached for her pen, but her fingers brushed against something else—an envelope tucked beneath the stack of papers. It was unmarked, but sealed with Carlos’s personal crest. Her stomach dropped. No one else had seen it. With trembling hands, she slid it into her folder, hiding it before anyone could notice. What if this was the envelope? The one with the name of the man Lisa would be forced to marry? And worse, what if she already knew him?