The dim glow of the desk lamp illuminated Matteo Rossi’s office, casting long shadows over the sleek, modern furniture. It was late, far past midnight, but the silence of the office building only seemed to sharpen Matteo’s focus. He sat behind his massive mahogany desk, fingers tapping rhythmically on the surface as he scanned the stack of files in front of him. His green eyes, cold and calculating, flicked from line to line, absorbing the details with meticulous precision.

The file belonged to a company on the verge of collapse—an acquisition target he’d been circling for weeks. They didn’t know it yet, but Matteo was ready to move in, like a predator stalking prey. He leaned back in his chair, the leather creaking slightly, a faint smirk pulling at the corner of his lips as he envisioned the takeover. His hand reached for a cigarette from the silver case on the desk, lighting it with a practiced flick of his wrist.

Smoke curled lazily from his lips as he picked up the next document, eyes narrowing slightly as he spotted a discrepancy in the company’s financial reports. His fingers traced the page, pausing on a key figure, and a quiet chuckle escaped his lips—so, they had tried to hide something. How amusing.

"Interesting…" he murmured softly to himself, his voice like velvet, dripping with dark amusement. Without looking up, he called out to his secretary, who was somewhere just outside the office door. "Come in. I need you to prepare something for me."

He took another drag from his cigarette, the room filling with a faint haze as he waited, still flipping through the documents, already plotting his next move.