The absolute silence in the grand glass atrium of our Manhattan headquarters was deafening. Hundreds of elite investors, high-profile journalists, and world leaders held their breath. Cameras clicked furiously, their artificial flashes illuminating the cold, calculated smile resting on Maria Thompson’s face.

Maria’s face went ghost-white. She scrambled off the couch, her designer dress rumpling. "What is the meaning of this?! I haven't done anything illegal! I'm suing my daughters for my rightful property!"

"Your legal representation, Victor Vance, was picked up by federal agents twenty minutes ago," Agent Miller replied coldly. "It turns out Mr. Vance was utilizing offshore accounts managed by Shell entities directly tied to Julian Sterling to short-sell Thompson Global stock right before your public appearance at the atrium."

I looked at Maria, offering a icy, victorious smile. "You thought Sterling was going to make you rich, Maria. He was using you as a distraction to commit the largest insider-trading short-squeeze in tech history. And because your name is on all the initial filings, you're the primary co-conspirator."

"No!" Maria shrieked, looking frantically between the agents. "Julian promised me immunity! He said—"

"Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law," Agent Miller interrupted, pulling out a pair of handcuffs.

As the steel cuffs clicked around Maria’s manicured wrists, she turned to me, her fake motherly facade entirely shattered, revealing the desperate, vicious creature underneath.

"You miserable brat!" she screamed as she was dragged away. "I am your mother! You wouldn't exist without me! You owe me!"

"The only thing we owe you," I said, watching her vanish down the hallway, "is the justice you escaped thirty years ago."

However, the war was far from won.

It was 7:30 AM. The crucial board meeting was set for 9:00 AM. While we had caught Maria and Vance, Julian Sterling was still a free man, and his corporate henchmen on our board were still pushing for the emergency vote to dissolve our executive control.

I called Sophie. "Did you find the smoking gun connecting Sterling directly to the short-selling algorithm?"

"I found something even better," Sophie’s voice came through the line, laced with dark triumph. "I hacked into Sterling Dynamics' internal server. Sterling didn't just recruit Maria this year, Ava... He’s been tracking our family for a decade. He was the one who leaked our headquarters' opening location to her and paid off our private security!"

"Send everything to my tablet," I said. "Claire and I will meet you in the boardroom."

At 8:55 AM, Claire, Sophie, and I walked into the high-floor executive boardroom of Thompson Global.

The room was filled with twelve of the most powerful board members on Wall Street. Sitting at the head of the table, looking completely unfazed, was Richard Hayes—Julian Sterling’s quiet ally on our board.

"You're late, Ava," Hayes said, checking his Rolex. "We were about to vote in your absence. Given the tremendous media circus and the damage to our stock value caused by your family's personal drama, the board is preparing to vote on an immediate merger proposal from Sterling Dynamics."

"Cancel the vote, Richard," I said, tossing a thick dossier onto the center of the glass table.

Hayes frowned. "What is this?"

"That is the complete forensic digital audit of your private bank account in the Cayman Islands," Claire stated coldly. "Along with proof of three secret meetings you had with Julian Sterling last month."

Hayes froze. The other board members leaned in, whispering frantically as they opened the folders placed in front of them.

"You sold out this company, Richard," Sophie stepped forward, leaning her hands on the table. "You helped orchestrate a fake family crisis to drive down our stock so Sterling could buy us for pennies on the dollar. That's not just a breach of fiduciary duty—that's treason. And federal agents are waiting in the lobby to arrest you."

Hayes turned pale, his confidence vanishing in an instant.

"Now," I announced, looking around the room at the remaining board members. "Who among you still wants to vote for a merger with a criminal?"

Silence engulfed the room. One by one, the board members closed their folders and lowered their heads.

We had saved the company. But as my phone rang again, I saw Dad's name on the screen.

When I answered, my heart dropped into my stomach.