Chapter 17 - The Man Behind The Camera
1727 Words
Rain fell steadily over Milan.
Dark clouds hung low above the city, turning the morning sky a dull shade of gray.
From the floor-to-ceiling windows of De Luca Holdings, the streets below looked unusually quiet.
Inside the Executive Department...
It was anything but quiet.
Phones rang constantly.
Employees hurried between offices carrying reports and contracts.
The France Expansion Project had entered its final evaluation stage.
Every minute mattered.
...
Sienna stood before the large digital screen in the strategy room.
Several department managers occupied seats around the conference table.
She tapped the remote.
The next slide appeared.
"Our revised logistics timeline."
She spoke with the same confidence she always had.
"The delay caused by the archive fire has been fully recovered."
"Our digital backups allowed us to restore every document within forty-eight hours."
One manager nodded approvingly.
"Excellent work."
Another raised his hand.
"What about the investors we met in Rome?"
"We've received formal partnership proposals from six companies."
Murmurs spread through the room.
Six.
That was far beyond what anyone had expected.
Kai couldn't hide his smile.
"Congratulations, everyone."
Sienna shook her head slightly.
"Don't celebrate yet."
"We haven't signed anything."
The room laughed softly.
One manager whispered to another,
"She really never changes."
...
An hour later...
The meeting finally ended.
As everyone filtered out, Kai remained behind.
"You handled that well."
"It was just another meeting."
"You say that after every meeting."
"It usually is."
Kai leaned against the conference table.
"I've been wondering..."
She looked up.
"What?"
"Have you spoken to Alex since Rome?"
Sienna paused.
"No."
Kai nodded slowly.
"I figured."
She gathered her files.
"We're busy."
"So is he."
There was nothing more to say.
At least...
Not aloud.
...
Across the city...
Inside Bellucci International...
Marco entered Alex's office carrying a thick black folder.
"You asked for everything we could find on Adrian Moretti."
Alex looked up from his laptop.
"And?"
Marco placed the folder on the desk.
"Officially..."
"He's clean."
Alex frowned slightly.
"Officially?"
Marco nodded.
"No criminal record."
"No financial scandals."
"No questionable business dealings."
"Everything appears... perfect."
Alex closed the laptop.
"I don't believe in perfect."
"Neither do I."
Marco opened the folder.
"There is one thing."
Alex waited.
"Every major setback suffered by De Luca Holdings over the past four years..."
He spread several reports across the desk.
"...occurred shortly before Adrian benefited from the outcome."
Alex studied the documents carefully.
A canceled merger.
A failed acquisition.
A delayed construction project.
Every incident looked unrelated.
Yet...
Adrian somehow emerged stronger after each one.
Coincidence?
Alex didn't think so.
"What about the archive fire?"
Marco shook his head.
"No connection."
"Yet."
Alex looked out the window.
"There always is."
...
Meanwhile...
Adrian sat comfortably inside his office.
Daniel stood across from him, visibly nervous.
"You wanted to see me?"
Adrian closed the folder in front of him.
"The board meeting went better than expected."
Daniel frowned.
"They cleared Miss De Luca."
"They did."
"Then..."
"Didn't we lose?"
Adrian smiled.
"No."
He stood and walked toward the window.
"Tell me, Daniel..."
"If I wanted to destroy someone's reputation..."
"Would I do it in one day?"
Daniel thought for a moment.
"No."
"Exactly."
Adrian turned around.
"People don't stop trusting someone overnight."
"They stop..."
"...little by little."
"One rumor."
"One misunderstanding."
"One doubt."
He smiled calmly.
"And eventually..."
"They begin questioning everything."
Daniel slowly nodded.
"I understand."
"No."
Adrian corrected.
"You understand the beginning."
"This is only my first move."
Daniel swallowed.
For the first time...
He realized Adrian wasn't simply ambitious.
He was patient.
Dangerously patient.
...
That evening...
Sienna finally left the office.
The rain had become heavier.
She opened her umbrella and stepped onto the sidewalk.
Almost immediately...
A familiar black luxury sedan pulled up beside the curb.
The rear window rolled down.
Marco smiled politely.
"Good evening, Miss De Luca."
She stopped walking.
"Mr. Marco."
"Our CEO asked me to deliver something."
He stepped out of the car carrying a small leather folder.
"No flowers."
He added quickly.
"No mysterious gifts."
"Just business."
Sienna accepted the folder.
Inside...
Were copies of market reports from Germany and Belgium.
Along with a handwritten note.
**Thought these might help with the France negotiations.**
**No strings attached.**
— Alex
She couldn't help smiling.
Small.
Almost invisible.
Marco noticed anyway.
"I'll tell him you smiled."
Her expression immediately disappeared.
"...Please don't."
Marco laughed.
"I was joking."
"I know."
She closed the folder.
"Thank you."
"My pleasure."
As the car drove away...
Sienna stood quietly beneath the rain.
Looking down at the note.
She didn't realize...
Someone across the street had been watching the entire exchange.
A man lowered his phone after secretly taking several photographs.
He immediately dialed a number.
"They've made contact again."
A familiar voice answered.
"Good."
Adrian smiled to himself.
"Keep following them."
"I want to know every time they meet."
The call ended.
Far away...
Thunder rolled across the dark Milan sky.
The storm...
Was only getting started.
________
The rain continued late into the evening.
By the time Sienna reached her apartment, the streets of Milan glistened beneath the city lights. She placed her handbag on the entryway table before setting the leather folder Alex had sent beside it.
She stared at it for a few seconds.
"...Business."
That was all it was.
Business.
She told herself that again before walking toward the kitchen.
Half an hour later...
She was seated at the dining table with her laptop open.
The reports Alex had sent were surprisingly detailed.
German freight costs.
Belgian customs regulations.
Projected fuel prices over the next eighteen months.
She compared them with De Luca Holdings' own research.
Almost everything matched.
Except...
One figure.
She frowned.
"No..."
She zoomed in on the spreadsheet.
One transportation company had quoted prices nearly twenty percent lower than every competitor.
That wasn't normal.
She quickly opened another file.
Then another.
The more she compared...
The stranger it became.
Someone was intentionally underbidding the market.
But why?
Her phone rang.
Kai.
"You haven't gone to bed, have you?"
"No."
"I knew it."
He sighed.
"I just finished reviewing tomorrow's meeting schedule."
"You sound tired."
"I am."
There was a brief silence before Sienna spoke.
"Kai."
"Hm?"
"Do you remember Falcon Freight?"
"The logistics company from Belgium?"
"Yes."
"Their numbers don't make sense."
Kai became serious immediately.
"What do you mean?"
"They're too low."
"Send them to me."
"I already did."
He checked his email.
A few moments later...
"...You're right."
"They'd lose millions if these prices were real."
"Exactly."
Kai frowned.
"So either it's a mistake..."
"...or it's bait."
Sienna quietly closed the file.
"I think it's bait."
...
The next morning...
Kai hurried into Sienna's office carrying a stack of documents.
"I checked Falcon Freight."
"And?"
"They were established only eight months ago."
Sienna looked up.
"Only eight?"
He nodded.
"And..."
"The majority shareholder is hidden behind three shell companies."
She slowly leaned back in her chair.
"Whoever owns them..."
"...doesn't want to be found."
Before either of them could continue...
Someone knocked.
"Come in."
Zara rushed inside.
"You two need to see this."
She placed another folder on Sienna's desk.
"This just arrived from Procurement."
Sienna opened it.
Her eyes narrowed.
It was another proposal.
From Falcon Freight.
Offering De Luca Holdings an exclusive contract.
Kai looked confused.
"They're approaching us directly?"
Sienna remained silent.
Then she quietly said,
"They're trying to get inside the company."
...
Across town...
Adrian entered an underground parking garage.
Unlike his usual composed appearance, today he wore a dark coat and a baseball cap pulled low over his face.
A black SUV waited in the far corner.
The driver's window rolled down.
A man in his fifties looked at Adrian.
"You wanted to see me."
Adrian got into the passenger seat.
"How's the new company?"
The man smiled.
"No one suspects a thing."
"They believe Falcon Freight is legitimate."
"They will."
Adrian replied calmly.
"The paperwork?"
"Perfect."
"The investors?"
"Fake."
"The accounts?"
"Clean."
The man laughed.
"You've planned everything."
"I don't leave things to chance."
He handed Adrian a file.
"The contract should reach De Luca Holdings today."
"It already has."
Adrian replied.
"If Sienna signs it..."
The man smiled.
"...the losses will destroy her reputation."
Adrian calmly looked out the windshield.
"She won't sign."
The man blinked.
"Then why send it?"
"Because..."
Adrian smiled.
"I want to know how she thinks."
"If she rejects it..."
"I'll know she's becoming more cautious."
"If she accepts it..."
"She'll destroy herself."
"Either way..."
"I learn something."
The man stared at him.
"You really enjoy chess, don't you?"
Adrian's smile widened.
"The best games..."
"...are won several moves in advance."
...
Back at De Luca Holdings...
Sienna stood before the large window in her office.
The Falcon Freight proposal remained open on her desk.
Kai watched her carefully.
"What are you thinking?"
She didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she picked up the proposal again.
"The offer is too generous."
"The company's history is too short."
"The ownership is hidden."
She closed the folder.
"No."
Kai smiled.
"I was hoping you'd say that."
She handed him the documents.
"Reject it."
"And..."
"I want a complete investigation into Falcon Freight."
Kai nodded.
"I'll get started."
As he reached the door...
He paused.
"Sienna?"
"Yes?"
"I don't think this company appeared by coincidence."
She met his eyes.
"Neither do I."
...
Later that afternoon...
Marco entered Alex's office.
"We've traced Adrian's recent financial activity."
Alex looked up.
"And?"
"Nothing directly links him to Falcon Freight."
"But..."
Marco placed another document on the desk.
"One of the shell companies used to create Falcon Freight..."
"...shares the same legal firm Adrian has used for years."
Alex's expression darkened.
"A coincidence?"
"I don't think so."
Alex slowly closed the file.
"Neither do I."
He stood.
For the first time since Milan...
His instincts were no longer based on suspicion.
They were beginning to form a pattern.
Someone wasn't merely trying to ruin Sienna's reputation.
Someone was trying to destroy her career.
Alex looked out over Milan's skyline.
"If you're coming after her..."
He murmured quietly.
"...you're going to have to come through me first."
Far away...
In his office...
Adrian looked out at the very same city.
Unaware that the invisible wall between him and Sienna had just gained another defender.
The game had changed.
Neither man intended to lose.
- Writer
