Chapter 12 - The New Empire
Back in Boston, the morning sun broke through the autumn clouds, casting a brilliant, golden light across the sprawling port facilities of Moretti-Romano Global Shipping.
From her corner office on the forty-second floor, Bella stood by the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, reviewing the final consolidated quarterly reports on her tablet.
Global shipping volume was up twenty-two percent. European maritime routes were fully secured under exclusive municipal contracts. The family trust was generating record-breaking revenues, entirely insulated from corporate espionage or underworld corruption.
The intercom on her desk chimed softly.
“Mrs. Moretti,” Alina’s voice came through. “The board of directors is assembled in the main conference room, awaiting your opening address for the annual merger summit.”
“Thank you, Alina. I’ll be right down,” Bella replied.
She set her tablet on the desk, straightened the lapels of her sharp blazer, and walked toward the private elevator. As she passed the polished oak table near the entrance, her eyes lingered for a fraction of a second on a framed black-and-white photograph of her father standing proudly beside his very first cargo vessel.
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“People can lie,” his voice echoed softly in her memory. “Numbers lie too, but only when somebody teaches them how.”
She had learned the numbers. She had mastered the rules of the game. And then, she had rewritten the entire board.
