Chapter 39

Third-Person POV

The morning sun painted golden streaks across Alexander’s office atop Pierce International. Sixty stories above Manhattan, the city stretched beneath him, a vast, glittering chessboard where every piece moved according to unseen plans. From this height, everything seemed distant, almost insignificant, except for the battles being fought in silence, the wars waged behind closed doors, and the people who thought they controlled their own fates.

Alexander sat back in his leather chair, adjusting his posture as he waited for his secretary’s daily briefing. The chair creaked softly under his weight, the only sound in the vast office aside from the faint hum of the city below.

A precise knock on the door announced Sarah’s arrival. She was never late. She stepped in, her heels clicking against the polished marble floor, holding her tablet in one hand.

“Good morning, sir,” she greeted professionally, stopping a few feet from his desk.

Al