“Alyssa? Lucy, she betrayed you.”

“No, she’s a victim, too. That recording proves it. Jeff will toss her aside the moment she’s no longer useful. She’s being used. I have to wake her up.”

From that day on, my counterattack began in earnest, quiet but relentless.

Through Sandra, I tried to reach Alyssa. But if I approached her directly, she’d only shut down. So instead, I went through the one person she might still trust, her best friend, Kelly.

Sandra met with Kelly and, under the condition of anonymity, began feeding her bits of information, warning her of Jeff’s true nature.

“Your friend is in danger. If this goes on, she’ll be left to take the fall and possibly end up in prison.”

At first, Kelly was skeptical. But when she saw the evidence, Apex Corporation’s crumbling financials, Jeff’s long history of manipulation and womanizing, her expression changed.

At the same time, Kevin and I worked to unify our team.

I gathered all the employees and told them everything, every lie, every attack, every threat Jeff had made against us.

The employees, once shaken by the rumors, quietly listened as they began to understand the truth.

“I’m sorry for the fear and confusion, but I will not give in. I will protect this company, the dream my father built, and the workplace you’ve all fought for. Please stand with me.”

A young designer stood up.

“We love working here. We’re proud of what Atelier Lumiere stands for. Please let us fight with you until the very end.”

One by one, voices joined in.

“We’re with you.”

I held back the tears that threatened to fall. I was surrounded by such warm, unwavering support.

Meanwhile, Zero’s investigation uncovered something deeper.

An offshore account in Alyssa’s name, secretly set up by Jeff. And when he followed the money trail, he made a shocking discovery.

“Lucy, this is big. Jeff didn’t just stash the embezzled funds. He funneled some of it into another account.”

“Another account?”

“Yeah. A Swiss private bank. And the money is being used to hire industrial spies.”

Zero sent over chat logs, conversations between Jeff and a man known in the underground for stealing corporate secrets.

“Jeff, did you get the blueprints for Atelier Lumiere’s upcoming project?”

“Spy delivered. The data is encrypted and sent. But Lucy Brown’s tough. Her computer security is insane.”

“Doesn’t matter. After next week’s shareholder meeting, it’s over. No matter what she does, it’ll be too late.”

They had stolen the unreleased designs, our future.

One piece after another fell into place.

Embezzlement, betrayal of trust, data theft, and the truth behind my father’s death.

All that remained was the final piece, the black USB my father left behind.

I spent hours every day trying every password I could think of. My father’s birthday, my mother’s death, the company’s founding date.

Every time, the same message.

Access denied.

Dad, what were you trying to tell me?

I reread his journal over and over, but found nothing.

The emergency shareholders meeting was just 3 days away.

Then, through Sandra, a message came from Kelly.

Lucy, something’s wrong with Alyssa. She looks scared whenever Jeff is around. I saw her crying and refusing to sign some documents. Today, she told me she found a bank statement from an overseas account, and she swears she doesn’t know anything about it.

There was no doubt.

Jeff was preparing to frame her, to pin the crimes on her and walk away clean.

“Sandra, we need to get Alyssa out of there now. Work with Kelly. Get her to a safe place before Jeff finds out.”

“Got it. But will she listen?”

“Play her the audio recording. Let her hear Jeff and his father talking about what they did to my dad. That’ll wake her up.”

I sent Sandra the recording, the one where Jeff and his father spoke so casually about orchestrating my father’s death.

It had to be the shock Alyssa needed.

The day before the shareholder meeting, I sat alone in my office, flipping through my father’s journal.

We had enough evidence to bury Jeff legally and socially.

But I knew the real truth. What my father really wanted me to know was inside that USB.

Then I noticed something I’d missed.

On the very last page, a faint ink stain like a tear. And in the corner, barely legible in delicate fountain pen, were the words:

The day you gave me that sketch, your first drawing of me, I’ll never forget it. A treasure forever.

May 16, 1998.

My sixth birthday, the day I gave my dad his first crayon portrait. His smiling face drawn with love.

No, could it be?

Hands trembling, I inserted the USB again, typed 19980516, and pressed enter.

Click.

The screen lit up.

Access granted.

One video file titled:

To my beloved daughter Lucy.

I held my breath and clicked on the file.

On screen appeared my father, thinner than I remembered, but smiling gently.

“Lucy, if you’re watching this, it means something happened to me and you’re now fighting alone to uncover the truth.”

His soft voice filled the room.

“Let me be direct. Jeff Owen is our enemy. He stole my company’s technology, poached my staff, and mentally cornered me. All of it calculated moves to take Atelier Lumiere legally. I resisted, but I may be nearing my limit.”

My father paused, then coughed weakly, clearly struggling.

“But Lucy, don’t let revenge consume you. True strength doesn’t lie in destruction. It lies in protecting, nurturing. You have that power. This video is my final gift to help you do just that.”

He then held up a document to the camera.

“This is a confidential contract between the founder of Apex Corporation, Jeff’s grandfather, and myself. In exchange for my technical contributions, the Owen family agreed to ensure Atelier Lumiere’s permanent independence and to never pursue a hostile takeover. If they violate this agreement, all rights Apex holds concerning Atelier Lumiere become void.”

It was the ultimate reversal.

The ace in the hole.

Our family’s final trump card.

“Lucy, I hope you find happiness. Live strong.”