The boardroom was silent. The polished mahogany table reflected the faint light of the afternoon sun spilling in through the tall windows. Lukas sat at the head of the table, his fingers loosely steepled, his gaze calm but unyielding. Across from him, Yaho and Ashmika shifted uncomfortably. The unspoken tension hung in the air like the static before a storm.
It had been weeks since they had first voiced their doubts about Noah. Not in public, never in front of Lukas, but enough that whispers had made their way back to him. They questioned whether Noah's rapid rise through the company had been earned or gifted. They wondered aloud, in the safe shadows of corridors, whether his loyalty could withstand temptation.
Now, all that was over.
