Chapter 2 - The Silent Trap
I knew I could not simply execute Victor in the middle of the night.
If he was bold enough to poison me, he was not acting alone.
Victor was a brilliant strategist, but he lacked the financial resources to seize my empire by himself.
Someone with deep pockets was backing his treacherous play.
I needed to know exactly who was standing in the shadows behind him.
The next morning, I walked into the main dining hall for breakfast.
I made sure my face looked slightly pale, and I kept my breathing shallow.
Victor was already there, sipping his black coffee and reviewing the daily security manifests.
When he saw me, a microscopic flash of confusion crossed his dark eyes.
"Good morning, Alessandro," he said, masking his surprise with a flawless smile.
"You look a bit tired today."
"My heart was racing last night," I lied smoothly, sitting heavily in my chair.
"I think the new medication might be causing some strange side effects."
Victor nodded sympathetically, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.
"Perhaps we should have the doctor adjust the dosage," he suggested with sickening sincerity.
"Perhaps," I agreed, staring directly into his treacherous soul.
I spent the rest of the day orchestrating my own slow decline.
I canceled two major meetings, citing extreme fatigue and chest pains.
I wanted Victor to believe that the poison was simply taking longer than expected to work.
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By nightfall, Gabriel reported that Victor had made a heavily encrypted phone call from his private study.
The trap was set, and the rat was beginning to move.
