Antonio stood by the tinted glass of his mid‑morning office overlooking the city he’d nearly lost. Below, traffic moved like veins in concrete; inside, monitors glowed green—Deluca Industries' stock surprisingly surging, nearly eight percent ahead of expectations. He smoothed his tie, adjusting the crisp crease as if anchoring himself to a world he’d spent too long rebuilding.

He remembered the afternoon of Rebecca’s announcement at the company and how the boardroom had gone ...