The air inside the conference room thickened, the kind of silence that pressed against the ears and made even breathing feel too loud.
Hugo stood rigid at the head of the table, his hands planted firmly against the polished wood, knuckles pale, eyes burning with barely restrained fury.
"You know I can take action against you for that," he said again, slower this time, each word sharpened like a blade. "What you did was a breach of trust. That project was mine. I built it from nothing, and you stripped it away at the most crucial moment."
No one interrupted him. No one even shifted in their seats.
Hugo had always commanded rooms like this. Long before Daniel had stepped into the corporate world, before his name became synonymous with innovation and growth, it was Hugo Bennett who had been feared and respected.
He had clawed his way up from nothing, made ruthless decisions, crushed competitors without blinking.
