The video ended.

I sat frozen. Tears streamed silently down my cheeks, falling onto the keyboard.

“Thank you, Dad. I’ll fight. Just like you taught me to protect what matters.”

I stood up and looked out at the night skyline. The air felt like the stillness before a storm.

Jeff Owen, your party’s over.

Tomorrow’s shareholder meeting will be your execution.

The hotel hall hosting the emergency shareholder meeting was thick with tension. Whispers of worry buzzed from board members and shareholders.

Cameras flashed nonstop.

At the center of it all stood Jeff Owen, puffed up like a conquering hero.

Next to him was his father, the chairman, looking visibly shaken.

But Alyssa was nowhere to be seen.

Jeff’s face briefly flickered with unease before he plastered on a smug smile.

From the back of the room, Sandra and I watched in silence.

I wore a sharp black suit. A few shareholders turned and shot me contemptuous looks, but I barely felt them.

“We now call to order this emergency shareholder meeting for Atelier Lumiere.”

The chairman’s voice silenced the room.

Jeff stepped forward and theatrically cleared his throat.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for gathering here today. As the largest shareholder and as Lucy Brown’s former fiancé, I deeply regret the circumstances that have brought us here.”

He looked around, feigning pain.

“After she embezzled funds and vanished, Atelier Lumiere stands at a crossroads. In response, I have made a difficult decision. I propose that Apex Corporation absorb and rebuild this historic company, and as a first step, I formally submit a motion to dismiss Lucy Brown as CEO.”

Jeff’s voice rang out across the hall.

His loyal shareholders responded with eager applause, as if they’d been waiting for this moment.

Just as the chairman prepared to call the vote, I spoke.

“Objection.”

My clear, unwavering voice cut through the tension in the room like a blade.

All eyes turned to me.

Sandra and I walked slowly down the center aisle as if down a war path lined with shareholders.

Jeff’s face contorted with shock and rage.

“Lucy, how the hell are you…”

“This is my company’s shareholder meeting. Why wouldn’t I be here?”

I ignored him and stepped to the mic, addressing everyone.

“Good afternoon. I’m Lucy Brown. Thank you all for entertaining this circus. But the performance ends here. Now it’s time for the truth.”

Sandra activated the presentation.

“First, let’s address Mr. Owen’s claim to be the majority shareholder. That claim is under serious dispute.”

The screen lit up with transaction records that Kevin had uncovered. Paper companies, fake consulting contracts, and secret stock purchases by Jeff’s associates.

“Jeff Owen embezzled over $500,000 from our company to secretly purchase shares under the names of dummy entities. This constitutes both breach of fiduciary duty and criminal embezzlement under corporate law.”

The room erupted in gasps.

Jeff’s face turned crimson.

“Lies. There’s no proof.”

“Oh, but there is.”

At that moment, a crisp voice echoed from the speakers.

“My name is Mike, and I serve as Apex Corporation’s external auditor. I’m joining remotely today.”

The screen changed to show Mike’s face, calm and professional.

I saw the chairman, Jeff’s father, stiffen.

“My audit confirms that Jeff Owen withdrew over $5 million inappropriately from Apex over the past three years, transferring it to personal accounts. Part of that sum was used to acquire Atelier Lumiere shares.”

He projected confidential financial records onto the screen.

The money trail was undeniable.

Jeff, cornered, made a final desperate move.

“That wasn’t me. Alyssa. It was all Alyssa’s idea. She manipulated me. It was all her doing.”

Pathetic.

But that’s exactly what I was waiting for.

“Alyssa, you say?”

At my signal, the doors of the hall swung open, and Alyssa entered, accompanied by Sandra.

Her eyes were still clouded with fear, but her steps held a faint glimmer of resolve.

Sandra spoke firmly.

“Miss Alyssa Brown is now our client. She is currently preparing criminal charges against Jeff Owen for coercion and fraud.”

“What?”

Jeff was stunned. He turned and glared at Alyssa, but she didn’t flinch.

“Jeff, I can’t keep lying for you. Lucy, I’m so sorry.”

And then, the final blow.

“But Jeff Owen’s crimes don’t end there.”

I cued the audio file Zero had recovered.

“Spy delivered.”

The audio clip proving Jeff’s collusion with the industrial spy echoed through the hall. The whispers among the shareholders turned to outrage.

Chairman Owen turned ghostly pale, nearly collapsing on the spot.

“Jeff Owen, you’re a fraud, a thief, and an embezzler.”

I looked down at him in complete silence and spoke quietly.

“There is no need to vote on his dismissal because, as of now, he is no longer even a legitimate shareholder of this company. Shares acquired through criminal profit hold no voting rights.”

I turned to face the entire room.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I will rebuild Atelier Lumiere. And I promise you, it will be stronger, bolder, and more creative than ever before.”

In response to my powerful declaration, the room erupted, this time with genuine, thunderous applause.

One by one, I read the names of the board members who had supported Jeff and submitted motions for their removal.

Every one of them passed unanimously.

The battle was over.

Victory was ours.

As I stepped down from the podium, uniformed officers waiting at the entrance began to approach Jeff in silence.

“Mr. Jeff Owen, we’d like you to come with us for questioning.”

He looked too defeated to resist.

As he was escorted out, he turned back, his eyes hollow, and whispered in my ear, “Don’t think you’ve won, Lucy. If you bring me down, the truth about your father’s death will come out. You think I killed him? That deal he made with me, it’s what broke him.”

A sharp jolt shot through my chest, but I didn’t flinch.

I leaned in and whispered back.

“I know. But Jeff, you still haven’t seen my real trump card.”

For the first time, true fear flashed across his face.

The battlefield masquerading as a shareholder meeting was over. Silence remained in its place.