เข้าสู่ระบบBy Monday afternoon, the conference room at Diamond Groups had become the center of Amy's world.Documents covered the table. Financial statements were open across three laptops. The legal team had supplied contracts, payment schedules and correspondence from the company they had just acquired. Nothing about the situation was dramatic enough to justify panic, yet everything was troubling enough to demand attention.Amy sat at the head of the table with Zion beside her.Across from them, the chief financial officer adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat."We've confirmed that six contracts listed as terminated were still active when the acquisition was completed."Amy looked at the documents."And the liabilities?""Approximately thirty-eight million."Zion's jaw tightened."Thirty-eight million that wasn't disclosed.""Correct."Amy leaned back."Who signed the original agreements?"The CFO slid another file across the table."The previous managing director."Amy opened it."Mart
Amy knew something was wrong the moment she stepped into Diamond Groups the following morning.It wasn't the usual tension that accompanied a major business meeting. This was different. Assistants were moving faster than usual, executives were speaking in hushed voices, and more than one person stopped talking when Amy and Zion walked past.She glanced at him."Please tell me you know what's happening.""I don't.""That's reassuring.""I was hoping you'd know."She gave him a look."You've been CEO longer than I've been alive.""Not quite."
By eight-thirty the following morning, Amy was already seated in the executive conference room at Diamond Groups.She had arrived twenty minutes early, partly because she refused to give her father the satisfaction of watching her rush into a meeting, and partly because she needed those twenty minutes to steady herself. This was different from every other meeting she had attended with Zack Armstrong. She wasn't entering as his daughter. She wasn't there to ask for his approval or defend her decision to work for Zion Groups. She was there because she had developed a proposal that could determine the future of two of the largest companies in the country.The room was almost identical to how she remembered it from childhood visits to her father's office: dark wood, floor-to-ceiling windows, a long polished table surrounded by leather chairs, and the Diamond Groups em
I had walked into intimidating rooms before.Boardrooms filled with executives who thought they knew more than me.Meetings where my last name spoke before I did.But nothing prepared me for this.Zion Petrakis didn’t just sit behind his desk.He owned the space.The room was too quiet, too bright,
Nobody spoke when Zion Petrakis walked through the executive floor.Not because they weren’t allowed to.Because his presence demanded silence naturally.The sharp sound of his shoes echoed against the polished black floors as employees quickly moved out of his path.Some nodded respectfully.Others
Amy stared at the rejection email on her laptop and laughed bitterly.“Unfortunately, we’ve decided to move forward with another candidate.”Again.She slammed the laptop shut and dropped back onto her couch with frustration.The apartment around her was small compared to the Armstrong mansion, but
Amy Armstrong adjusted the sleeve of her blazer for the third time before stepping out of the car.The towering glass building before her reflected the early morning sun like a polished diamond.Diamond Towers.Her father’s empire.Soon to be hers.A lump formed in her throat.“Miss Armstrong?” the







