Chapter 6 - The Boardroom UltimatumAmelia didn't hesitate. She stepped up to the heavy steel door, punched her biometric override code into the digital keypad with brutal force, and shoved the door open.
Clang!
The heavy door banged against the concrete wall.
Julian Vance didn't even flinch. He stood beside Lily’s chair, swirling a glass of expensive scotch, a cool, arrogant smile plastered across his sharp features. The two mercenaries immediately raised their assault rifles, pointing them straight at Amelia and Thomas’s chests.
"Daddy!" Lily cried out through her oxygen mask, her small eyes widening with terror as she saw Thomas standing in the doorway.
"Lily! Lily, I'm right here! Don't look at them, look at Daddy!" Thomas shouted, taking a frantic step forward.
"Ah, ah, ah, Mr. Miller," Julian Vance warned, raising a single finger with mock politeness. "One twitch, and my men turn your little girl into swiss cheese. I'm sure you wouldn't want all that rent money to go to waste."
Amelia stepped into the room, her posture rigid, her face locked into a terrifying mask of corporate freezing cold.
"Let the child go, Julian," Amelia said, her voice dropping into a razor-sharp whisper. "This is a dispute between you and me. The board seats, the logistics contracts, the shares—you want Adler Vanguard? It's yours. Sign the transfer papers right now and let them walk out of here."
Julian chuckled, taking a slow sip of his scotch. "Oh, my sweet Amelia. You still think this is just about shares? You built this empire on a foundation of sand. You thought you could bury the past just by changing your name and hiding behind a corner office?"
Thomas stopped dead in his tracks. He turned his head slowly, looking from Julian Vance to Amelia Adler.
"What is he talking about?" Thomas demanded, his voice trembling with a sudden, suffocating dread. "What past?"
Amelia closed her eyes for a single second, a heavy shudder running through her shoulders. When she opened them again, her eyes were swimming with unshed tears.
Julian Vance smiled, walking slowly over to Lily’s chair and resting his hand casually on the little girl's shoulder. Lily whimpered, trying to pull away.
"Tell him, Amelia," Julian purred, his eyes glinting with sadistic amusement. "Tell your dear, devoted maintenance worker who you really are. Tell him why your husband died five years ago in a fiery car crash on the South Side. Or rather... why everyone thought he died."
Thomas felt the room spin. The server racks around him seemed to tilt sideways. He stared at Amelia, his breath catching in his throat as a terrifying, impossible puzzle began to piece itself together in his mind.
"No," Thomas whispered, shaking his head. "No... that's impossible."
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Amelia looked straight at Thomas, her lower lip trembling—the first time he had ever seen the iron-willed CEO look broken.
"Hello, Tommy," Amelia whispered, her voice cracking with five years of unimaginable grief and guilt. "It's been a long time."
