Tuesday, June 24, 2025 – Day 9
The Vitale Group headquarters towered above Milan's Porta Nuova district—a mirrored monolith of ambition. Inside, Lorenzo Vitale walked through its marble-clad corridors like a man threading a minefield in a tailored suit.
He had built this empire, block by block. From Mediport from Rome to Europe, by acquisition he stretch his hands on everything he could, and all this in just 8 years. Yet, even empires built on steel had fault lines—and today, Lorenzo felt them tremble beneath his feet.
10:17 AM – Vitale Group, Executive Floor
The conference room was glass on all sides, a cube suspended above the city. Lorenzo sat at the head of the table, scanning a quarterly procurement report while pretending not to notice the man walking in late.
Gianluca Baresi: bronze tan, green eyes, tailored Brioni, smile like a shark on vacation.
He slid into his chair and dropped a leather dossier on the table. "Customs delays out of Turkey. Our Turkish supplier's CEO needs a little… reminder."
"I'll take care of it," Lorenzo replied flatly.
Gianluca leaned back. "Maybe let my guys handle it. They have ways."
Lorenzo didn't flinch, but his hand clenched slightly beneath the table.
Author's Note: Corporate Shadowplay 101
Let's pause for context.
The Vitale Group is technically controlled by a private holding company—Vitale Holdings S.p.A., which itself is 51% owned by Lorenzo through a family trust.
But here's the catch: influence doesn't require majority ownership.
Enter Gianluca.
When Lorenzo accepted early-stage funding from Argentum Partners—a "liquidity partner" recommended by his now-retired CFO—he didn't realize he was inviting rot into the foundation.
Argentum was a shell company. Behind it: a web of shelf companies, nominee directors, and deep-pocketed investors connected to southern Italy's darker networks.
Through this structure, Gianluca now controls approximately 38.6% of Vitale Group's operational influence, without ever showing up on paper as a major shareholder.
How? Through:
Convertible debt clauses, granting voting rights before maturity
Management contracts, installing loyal operatives into senior roles
Vertical partnerships, that quietly gatekeep logistics, procurement, and warehousing
A poison pill clause, triggered if Lorenzo's liquidity or voting majority dips
In short: Gianluca didn't need to own the company. He just needed to own the pressure points.
Back to Lorenzo…
"Your boy Leo," Gianluca said, flipping through the report like it bored him. "He pitched MechVerona. Almost nailed it."
"You watched?"
"Of course. I watch anything you quietly meet. Can't have my money getting sentimental."
Lorenzo kept his tone neutral. "Leo's will not be funded by the company."
"No," Gianluca smiled. "He's funded by you? Personally? this is interesting."
A pause. The room felt suddenly airless.
"I knew his father," Lorenzo said softly. "He had a mind for systems. Leonardo inherited that."
"Cute," Gianluca replied. "But I already back the team that won. We've got something brewing there—might even eat 60% of the Italian market."
"I'm not worried," Lorenzo lied.
"You should be," Gianluca said, rising. "Your empire's built like a cathedral. I'm not knocking it down. I'm just moving the altars."
12:03 PM – Rooftop Garden, Vitale Group
Lorenzo checked his private wallet. The funds for Leo had cleared.
He smiled faintly.
A message from Luca popped up:
They're moved into the side office. Giulia turned it into a sticker museum already. I gave them three suggestions. None of them were stupid. P.S. Tell Giulia and Sofia their whiteboard jokes are getting dangerously close to being funny
Luca had advised tweaks to their sales pitch—less talk of disruption, more focus on building trust."You're selling direction, not drama," he told them.
Lorenzo trusted Luca's barroom wisdom more than half the McKinsey reports he'd paid six figures for.
Still, the war inside his boardroom weighed heavier.
Gianluca wasn't a nuisance. He was metastasis.
3:12 PM – Navigli District Safehouse
Lorenzo stood in front of three wide monitors—procurement chains, private cap tables, and internal legal memos glowing across the room.
Folder: Ferryman – Path B
Inside: a blueprint to surgically eject Gianluca's influence. Legal, aggressive, and time-sensitive.
He read it like a man memorizing the steps of his own survival.
Then he tapped a voice memo on his phone.
"If this fails… Leo will be my safety boat. I'll make sure the wind is behind him, not against. That's all I can do to secure my retirement." Lorenzo laughed to himself, thinking he'll become like his mentor Luca a proud owner of a students bar.
He hesitated—then added:
"The original plan is to make him the next big thing in supply chain procurement—and acquire him through Vitale Group—I can dilute Gianluca's controlled shares. And increase my convertible debt in the Group."
He looked out at the old canal waters, glinting in the late sun.
In business, the knives are silent. The betrayals polite.
But make no mistake—Lorenzo Vitale was preparing for war.