Francis stormed into the boardroom, his tie hanging loose, his face red with fury. The two directors of the hospital sat stiff in their chairs, their eyes darting between their trembling pens and his stormy glare.
"He thinks I'm finished." Francis snarled, slamming a file onto a polished mahogany table. "They think he can ruin me and I'll just crawl into the ground. Not a chance. We're going to cut costs, expand faster, and open a new wing in three months -whether they bleed for it or not."
One of the directors cleared his throat nervously. "Sir, with all due respect if Mr. Aaron V-"
"Don't you dare say his name in this room!" Francis snapped, pointing his finger like a dagger.
"He doesn't control me. He doesn't control us. I built this hospital from the ground up. He thinks he can choke me with suppliers? Fine. I will build my own. I will show him who Francis is."
Hours later, Francis called in favours, poured money into emergency deals, and even contacted rival suppliers who had always dreamed of dethroning Aaron's reach.
By the end of the night, he leaned back in his chair, satisfied.
But tension satisfaction didn't last.
The next day his phone exploded with calls.
"Sir!" one of his managers shouted over the line. " The shipment of supplies you negotiated -it's been rerouted. The truck never arrived."
Francis' jaw tightened." What do you mean rerouted? Who rerouted them?"
The answer chilled him." The drivers said they were offered double pay if they were redirected to another warehouse. Sir... they said the warehouse belongs to Vetercio Enterprise."
Francis slammed his fist on the table. Since when did Aaron have an Enterprise? Wasn't he in the mafia? He slammed the phone down, his chest heaving. He tried to breathe, tried to think. Aaron will really go to any extent to bring him down. Even if he has to face an Enterprise.
Before he could react, another call came through.
This time it was a major donor. "Francis I'm pulling my funding. We can't afford to be on the wrong side of the war. I've been offered a seat at another hospital project - Vetercio Health.
His breath seized.
"That is a fake hospital. It's not fucking real. I have been in this business for a long time, and an unknown hospital comes into sight and you are sifting through them." He barked.
The person at the other side sighed." Francis, dear Francis. Business is business. Whether real or fake, it's still business."
The line went dead.
Francis sank back into his chair, his pulse racing. For the first time, his confidence cracked.
Then, like a ghost, a notification popped up on his private phone. No sender. No subject.
A single line glared back at him.
I warned you, Francis. Stay away from what's mine. Every step you make, just know I'm ten steps ahead of you. Sut still or I'll bury you faster.'
Francis's hand trembled around the phone. He brushed his hand through his hair. He looked around in his empty office, suddenly suffocated. For the first time in his career, he wasn't the predator. He was the prey.