CHAPTER 7: THE LIVE BROADCAST THAT DESTROYED AN EMPIRE
By sunrise, every major news network in America had gathered outside Brooks Global Headquarters.
No one knew why the billionaire CEO, Adrian Brooks, had called an emergency press conference after disappearing from his own charity gala.
Rumors spread like wildfire.
Some said he had been kidnapped.
Others claimed he had died in the fire at the lake house.
Inside the boardroom, Victoria adjusted her white suit and smiled confidently.
"The board is ready," one executive whispered.
"They all voted in your favor."
She nodded.
"And Adrian?"
"No sign of him."
Victoria smiled.
"Then Brooks Global is finally mine."
The massive conference hall erupted into applause as she stepped onto the stage.
"My friends," she began, "it is with a heavy heart that I announce Adrian Brooks was tragically killed last night."
Fake tears rolled down her cheeks.
"He was a remarkable husband..."
"...and I promise to honor his legacy."
The audience stood and applauded.
Then...
The giant screen behind Victoria suddenly went black.
Every microphone crackled.
Every camera froze.
Victoria turned around.
"What is happening?"
A familiar voice echoed through the speakers.
"You're lying."
The ballroom fell silent.
The doors slowly opened.
Adrian Brooks walked inside.
Alive.
Standing.
Without his wheelchair.
Gasps filled the room.
Television reporters nearly dropped their cameras.
Victoria's face turned white.
"You..."
"That's impossible."
Adrian kept walking until he stood only a few feet away from her.
"No, Victoria."
"The impossible part..."
"...is how long you convinced the world you loved me."
The crowd erupted into chaos.
Then Noah walked onto the stage, holding Adrian's hand.
Victoria instinctively stepped backward.
Her eyes widened in terror.
"The boy..."
"He should be dead."
The microphone caught every word.
Silence swept across the room.
Victoria immediately covered her mouth.
She had just confessed on live television.
Adrian nodded toward the control booth.
"Play the file."
The giant screens lit up.
One by one, the audience watched hidden recordings of Victoria.
Ordering assassinations.
Paying corrupt officials.
Planning Adrian's car crash.
Signing offshore payments to Project Phoenix.
The room exploded with outrage.
Board members stood in disbelief.
Government officials rushed toward the exits.
Several executives tried to quietly leave.
But the doors slammed shut.
Federal agents entered from every entrance.
"No one leaves."
"Everyone named in Project Phoenix is under arrest."
Handcuffs clicked throughout the room.
Victoria looked around in panic.
For the first time in years...
She realized there was nowhere left to run.
Then she laughed.
A cold...
Terrifying laugh.
"You still don't understand, Adrian."
"You think you've won?"
She slowly reached into her purse.
The agents raised their weapons.
Adrian immediately shielded Noah behind him.
Victoria pulled out a small black remote.
She smiled through tears.
"If I fall..."
"...the whole country falls with me."
She pressed the button.
Nothing happened.
Victoria frowned.
She pressed it again.
Still nothing.
A new voice echoed through every speaker in the building.
"Looking for this?"
Every screen switched to a woman sitting inside a dark control room surrounded by hundreds of monitors.
She smiled calmly.
"Hello, Victoria."
"My name is Oracle."
"I've been inside Project Phoenix..."
"...since the day it was created."
Victoria's confident expression vanished.
For the first time...
The woman who had controlled presidents, billionaires, and assassins...
Looked genuinely afraid.
Oracle leaned toward the camera and delivered one final sentence that shocked the entire nation.
"Your husband isn't the only Brooks who survived."
The screen changed.
An elderly man stepped out of the shadows.
His face was instantly recognized by millions watching live.
Michael Brooks.
The billionaire founder of Brooks Global.
Officially declared dead twenty years earlier.
He looked directly into the camera and smiled.
"Hello, Victoria."
"Did you really think you killed me?"
The nation watched in stunned silence...
May you like
As the man everyone had buried...
Walked back into history.
