ROMAN'S POV

I sat back in my chair and let out a long, heavy sigh, dragging a hand across my face as the adrenaline of the evening finally began to fade. “What a day,” I muttered to myself, my voice barely more than a whisper in the stillness of my office. The gala was finally over, and although the clinking of glasses and scattered chatter still echoed faintly from the hall, in here there was nothing but silence.

The event had gone exactly as planned. Every detail had been executed with precision — the décor, the speeches, the entertainment, the presentations. I’d spoken to nearly every shareholder, shaken every hand...