Baccio Pereira, the head of Pereira Trading Company, had been so stressed that he hadn’t been able to sleep properly for days.

As he woke up, he shouted the name of the man who had become the source of his anger.
"Damn that Medici bastard! Tearing him limb from limb wouldn’t be enough!"

The more he thought about it, the more his fury grew. He had fabricated a minor scandal to frame the Modina family, who had worked for his company for generations. How could this old matter suddenly resurface, and from where?

It was maddening. He had buried …