The ballroom had never been so quiet. Damian's confidence crumbled before everyone's eyes. The executives standing behind Elena weren't merely advisors.
The silence shattered in an instant.
Damian let out a brittle laugh, clinging desperately to the last scraps of control.
"This is ridiculous," he sneered. "She's nothing but—"
The words never made it out.
The executive standing beside Elena slowly turned his head.
"Nothing but what?" he asked calmly.
Then he opened a black leather folder.
One glance at the first page was enough.
Every trace of color vanished from Damian's face.
Elena Voss.
Founder. Majority Shareholder.
Voss Global Holdings.
The room seemed to tilt beneath him.
Every contract he had proudly signed.
Every acquisition he had celebrated.
Every opportunity that had fueled his meteoric rise.
All of it.
Every single piece.
Led back to companies operating under her control.
Veronica stumbled backward.
Her fingers tightened around her handbag until her knuckles turned ghost-white.
"No..." she breathed. "That's impossible. She's just a—"
"A what?" Elena cut in.
She didn't raise her voice.
May you like
She didn't need to.
The quiet certainty in her tone hit harder than any shout ever could.
