The glass wall rattled as a fist slammed against it.
Inside the corner office of Titan Skincare, silence reigned. None of the executives dared move. The only sound was the labored breathing of their CEO, Malcolm Veyra, as he leaned over the polished table, knuckles white.
The office was a palace of polished steel and glass. The skyline stretched across the windows, a city glowing with endless energy, but within these walls, the only thing that moved was fear. Malcolm had built Titan into a market juggernaut by cultivating that fear—fear of failure, fear of falling behind, fear of his wrath. His staff knew it well.
"You're telling me," he growled, his voice low and dangerous, "that after three years of dominance, three years of investment, three years of bleeding this company dry to stay ahead… we've been blindsided?"
No one answered. They didn't dare.
He laughed, short and sharp, the sound more like a snarl. "Blindsided by who? A ghost company? A brand that didn't even exist six months ago?"
At the far end of the table, his assistant clutched her tablet like a lifeline. Her knuckles were white. Still, she forced herself to speak. "S-Sir, the investigation team traced Eversage's papers. The registered owners are two figures—Natalie Su and Hendricks Vale. They—"
"Stop."
Malcolm's voice cracked like a whip. He straightened, fixing her with a stare so intense she shrank into her chair. "Do you take me for a fool?"
"N-no, sir, I—"
"Two unknowns don't topple empires!" He slammed his palm on the table. The sound reverberated like a gunshot. Several executives flinched, eyes darting toward the door, as though escape were an option.
"Do you think I don't know how this city works?" Malcolm's voice rose. "Power has faces, names, bloodlines. When something rises this fast, there's always a hand pulling the strings. Always."
The assistant nodded quickly, trembling. "Of course, sir. We'll dig deeper—"
"You should have dug deeper yesterday!" His voice thundered through the office. Papers fluttered on desks, a glass of water toppled, spilling across the polished wood.
Malcolm turned away from them, pacing toward the window. He stared down at the city, its lights blinking like taunts. Titan Skincare had ruled this skyline for years. Their moisturizer line had been the crown jewel—praised, copied, envied. It had survived trends, scandals, even economic shifts. It had been the standard.
Until now.
Eversage had dropped a product with near-instant results. Overnight, Titan's jewel was a relic. Sales had plunged, hashtags mocked Titan's formulas as outdated and overpriced. Even their long-time distributors were quietly shifting shelf space, pretending loyalty while betting on the new horse.
On his desk, near the corner, sat a half-used jar of Titan's moisturizer. Malcolm's hand hovered over it, then clenched into a fist. Years of work, undone in weeks.
He spun back toward the table, eyes blazing. "I want names. Real names. Who is behind Eversage? Who bankrolled them? Who protects them? Because make no mistake…" He leaned down, his face inches from his cowering assistant's. "No one replaces me without consequences."
A nervous cough came from one of the executives at the far end of the table. Malcolm's head snapped toward him.
"You have something to say?"
The man swallowed hard, sweat beading at his temple. "Only that… perhaps we should focus on refining Titan's next release. Competing directly—"
Malcolm's laugh cut him off. "Competing? With what? Lipstick on a corpse?"
He strode down the table, each step deliberate, his polished shoes striking the floor like a countdown. His voice rose with every word. "Do you think customers care about 'Titan's next release'? They've already moved on. They don't want improvement. They want Eversage. And every second we waste, we bleed."
He slammed both hands onto the table, leaning forward, looming over the executives like a predator over cornered prey. "We don't compete. We crush. Do you understand me?"
Silence.
The executives nodded, some too quickly, some not at all.
Finally, the assistant whispered, "Yes, sir."
Malcolm straightened. His expression smoothed, but the fury in his eyes hadn't faded. He adjusted his tie with deliberate calm, the gesture at odds with the violence simmering in him.
"Good. Then here's what happens next." His voice was steady now, almost cold. "We double the pressure. Find every crack in Eversage's operations. Distributors. Suppliers. Warehouses. I don't care if it takes bribes or blackmail. If they have secrets, I want them."
He paused, eyes sweeping the room. "And when you find the true face behind this little miracle cream… bring it to me. Alive, if possible. Broken, if not."
A shiver ran through the room. No one doubted he meant every word.
Malcolm's lips curved into a thin smile, as though the storm had passed. "Dismissed."
Chairs scraped as the executives scrambled to leave. Some whispered hurriedly to each other, already strategizing. Others fled in silence, eager to escape the weight of his gaze.
The assistant lingered, clutching her tablet.
Malcolm turned his gaze on her one last time. "Next time you come to me with a report, make sure it's worth reading. If I wanted surface-level names, I'd Google them myself."
"Yes, sir," she whispered, and nearly tripped in her rush to leave.
The office was quiet again.
Malcolm walked to the window, staring down at the streets. His reflection glared back at him from the glass—sharp suit, graying hair, and eyes that burned with ambition and hate. He loosened his tie just enough to breathe.
From this height, the city looked small. Manageable. A map of lights, waiting for him to redraw it.
On the desk, the jar of Titan's moisturizer caught the glow of the lamps. He picked it up, twisting the lid slowly. The cream inside looked dull now, outdated, almost pathetic. He tipped the jar, letting a lump of it slide into the trash.
"Enjoy your moment, Eversage," he whispered, almost tenderly. "However long it lasts. Because I will find you. And when I do…" His lips curled into a smile sharp enough to cut glass. "I'll burn your empire to ash."
The office lights dimmed as he pressed a button on his desk. Behind him, the city continued to glitter, oblivious.
But in the shadows of Titan Skincare, a storm had begun to gather.