The Soul's Unfinished Story
Chapter 12:Measured by the Wolf
INT. BOARDROOM 2B – TEN MINUTES LATER
Inara stands frozen outside the door. Her fingers slick with sweat, gripping her brief. Her heart pounds in her chest. A voice whispers in her mind.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
Don’t go in.
She takes a deep breath and steps forward, pushing the door open. The room falls silent the moment she enters.
INT. BOARDROOM 2B – CONTINUOUS
The air is thick, the silence suffocating. At the head of the table sits ILLIAS RAVENTHORNE. He doesn’t own the room—he absorbs it. His stillness is unsettling. His presence commands everything. The moment Inara enters, all eyes shift to her, and she feels the weight of the room press against her.
Vinayak (ML assistant)
(looking up)
Miss Shekhawat. We weren’t expecting you.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(voice steady)
My father’s out of town. I’ll be presenting in his place.
Illias Raventhorne.(ML)
(She walks in with shaking hands and a steady voice. Brave mask for trembling bones. I don't move. Don’t need to. The hunted always sense the wolf long before he bares his teeth. Let her connect the slides. Let her pretend control. I’m not here to listen. I’m here to measure.)
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
This is the global expansion pitch. Built on last week’s projections—revised, restructured, and aligned with updated logistics from key vendors across Europe and Southeast Asia.
Illias doesn’t flinch. Just a slow blink. His assistant leans forward.
Vinayak (ML assistant)
You handled this entire revision?
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(steady)
Yes. Alone.
Silence hangs in the air—heavy, alive. Then, Illias moves. Just a subtle nod. The smallest gesture.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(voice firm)
Slide one—regional metrics. Projected turnover post-implementation.
Illias Raventhorne.(ML)
(Illias watched her, unblinking, his gaze sharp and unyielding. He didn’t nod, didn’t shift—only observed her as if she were a specimen under a microscope. Each word she spoke, each slide she advanced, felt like a quiet challenge. His eyes never left her, calculating, weighing, measuring.)
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
We’ve pre-verified logistics chains across three global ports. That cuts overhead by nearly eighteen percent.
One of the partners leans in, impressed.
？？？
How did you manage this?
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
I renegotiated. One by one. We now hold soft-lock contracts with every primary distributor. This isn’t a gamble. It’s a storm forecasted weeks in advance.
Illias Raventhorne.(ML)
Illias claps. Slow. Measured. Not mocking.
Inara feels the tightening in her chest. The clap isn’t for praise—it’s marking something. The end of the pitch.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(finishing)
That concludes the presentation.
Her voice falters, but the room murmurs in approval. Everyone but Illias. He remains still, his expression unreadable. His assistant whispers something in his ear.
Illias stands, every movement precise, clinical. His eyes lock with Inara’s. The weight of the room shifts. He speaks in a voice cold as ice.
Illias Raventhorne.(ML)
(voice low, controlled)
Execution is the difference between ambition and legacy.
He nods once and walks out, his presence leaving the room in eerie silence. The door clicks shut behind him.
INT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE – LATER
Inara walks down the hallway, her legs shaky, her heart racing. Whispers follow her.
？？？2
He only said one thing? Just that line?
？？？
She didn’t crack. She actually stood there.
But Inara doesn’t hear the whispers. Her pulse still races. The echo of his voice lingers, the memory of his stare burns through her. He hadn’t judged her. Not yet. He had measured her.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(quietly to herself)
Men like him... always measure before they strike.
She continues walking, her body still trembling, but her resolve hardening with each step.
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