The black fountain pen glided effortlessly across the thick parchment, the sharp scratching sound the only noise cutting through the suffocating silence of the penthouse office. Giovanni Blackwood set the pen down, the dark ink glistening under the dim, ambient lighting.

He slid the document across the mahogany desk toward his secretary, a sharp, impeccably dressed man who stood at absolute attention.

"Send this across immediately," Giovanni commanded, his voice cold and cutting. "Inform them that the major acquisition between our company and the Marchetti group is officially dead. We are pulling out."

The secretary took the papers with a crisp bow of his head. "Right away, sir."

With a...