Chapter 25 - The First Strike
The shadow board did not waste time. They initiated their psychological warfare the very next morning.
Mateo was sitting in his home office, reviewing the global shipping manifests, when a heavy, unmarked manila envelope was delivered directly to his secure internal mail terminal.
He sliced the envelope open with a silver letter opener.
Inside was a stack of highly sensitive, encrypted emails. The emails were allegedly sent from Valeria's private server to the legal representatives of a rival corporation. The text heavily implied that Valeria was secretly negotiating to sell her shares of the company to the highest bidder, effectively orchestrating a hostile takeover behind Mateo's back.
Mateo stared at the documents, his heart pounding a heavy, painful rhythm against his ribs.
"This is impossible,"
Mateo murmured, his eyes scanning the digital signatures.
The timestamps matched. The IP addresses matched the estate's private network. Everything looked absolutely, flawlessly authentic.
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He thought about the billions of dollars at stake. He thought about the sudden, terrifying reality of his new world, where everyone wore a mask and loyalty was bought and sold by the hour.
He picked up the documents and walked directly down the hall toward the nursery, his mind a turbulent ocean of doubt and anger.
