Dominic Sterling had spent years building a reputation powerful enough to survive almost anything.
Scandals.
Competitors.
Market crashes.
Fear.
Especially fear.
Fear kept executives obedient, investors loyal, and competitors careful. For years, Dominic had controlled every room he entered simply because people feared what happened when he lost patience.
Which was exactly why the atmosphere inside Sterling Global’s boardroom felt so volatile now.
Whitmore Industries had walked away.
Not publicly.
Not emotionally.
Not even dramatically.
They had simply ended negotiations and transferred the partnership to Blackwoods Holdings as though Sterling Global no longer deserved consideration.
Cold blue market projections glowed across the conference room screens while executives sat rigi
