Chapter One – The Man Above
Silence always came before him.
The elevator doors opened with a soft chime, and the sixty-ninth floor of Moreau Tower fell still. Conversations stopped mid-sentence. Fingers lifted from keyboards. Staff instinctively straightened their posture, eyes cast down as the man in black stepped onto the marble floor.
Rael Moreau didn't command attention.
He absorbed it.
Perfectly tailored black suit, crisp white shirt, no tie—he never wore one. The silver watch on his wrist glinted as he walked, but there wasn't a hint of jewelry or extravagance elsewhere. He didn't need to speak to be feared. His presence was enough.
Outside his office, his personal assistant stood waiting.
"Elijah," Rael said in greeting—if it could be called that.
"Good morning," Elijah replied coolly, handing over a slim tablet. "Morning report. Tokyo is ready to connect by eight-thirty. There's been a shift in the MoreTech board's projections, and legal wants approval on two restructuring contracts."
Rael accepted the tablet without breaking stride, entering his office without waiting for the door to be opened. Elijah followed.
The office was glass, stone, and silence. Floor-to-ceiling windows framed the city skyline like a portrait. Minimalist. Immaculate. Cold.
Exactly how he liked it.
"No delays," Rael said, scanning the screen. "Move Tokyo up to eight."
"Already done."
Rael didn't nod. Just set the tablet on his desk and sat. His expression never shifted. His fingers moved with purpose. Everything around him—the silence, the stillness—was curated to obey.
"Carlson?"
Elijah gave a small shrug. "Still incompetent. Still loud about it."
"Remove him."
"I'll initiate the process quietly."
The room was still for a moment, the only sound the soft flick of digital pages turning as Rael reviewed data. His movements were smooth, clinical, inhumanly efficient.
Elijah spoke again, voice casual. "Investor forum tomorrow. PR is asking if you'll give them fifteen seconds on camera."
Rael's expression didn't change. "No."
"They said it's a good opportunity to appear… 'warmer.'"
"I'm not cold," Rael replied softly. "I'm distant. There's a difference."
Elijah chuckled under his breath. "Sure. You should tell that to the interns who cried last week."
"If they can't function under pressure, they shouldn't exist in this building."
"You say that like you aren't the pressure."
Rael glanced at him once. Elijah just smiled.
Of the few people Rael tolerated, Elijah was the only one who dared speak that way. Not because Rael trusted him, but because Elijah never overstepped. Never asked more than he should. He knew the rules of the machine and stayed well within them.
"Clear my afternoon," Rael said, already rising to prepare for the meeting.
"All of it?" Elijah asked.
"Yes."
"Personal reason or professional silence?"
Rael buttoned his jacket. "Neither. I simply don't want to be bothered."
Elijah gave a half-smile and made the note.
Rael walked to the window once more, looking down at the world beneath him. The city was awake now—buzzing, moving, desperate to prove itself.
He didn't envy them.
He didn't feel anything at all.
And that was the way he liked it.
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