The executive boardroom on the forty-third floor of Thompson Holdings Tower was designed to intimidate. Floor-to-ceiling windows offered panoramic city views, a massive mahogany table dominated the center of the space, and leather chairs worth thousands of dollars each surrounded it like thrones.Today, however, the room's grandeur was overshadowed by chaos.Approximately thirty people filled the space—major shareholders, board members, senior executives—all of them radiating varying degrees of panic, anger, and desperation. The air was thick with tension, voices overlapping in heated argument.At the head of the table, William Thompson—Robert's eldest brother, sixty-two years old with thinning gray hair and a perpetually uncertain expression—gripped his gavel uselessly. Beside him sat David Thompson, younger by five years, his round face flushed with stress and frustration.Neither man had Robert's ruthless confidence or cunning. They were adequate administrators at best, men who'd c

Alexander strode into the boardroom with unhurried confidence, each step measured and purposeful. The silence that had fallen over the room deepened as Marcus moved ahead of him, pulling out the chair at the head of the table—the CEO's chair, Robert Thompson's seat.The gesture was deliberate. Provocative.Alexander sat down smoothly, settling into the leather chair as if he'd been sitting there all his life. Marcus took position behind him, standing at attention like a bodyguard protecting royalty.The shareholders and executives stared, their expressions ranging from confusion to shock to dawning outrage. For several heartbeats, no one moved. No one spoke.Then Howard Chen found his voice. "What... what the hell is this? Who are you?""More importantly," Patricia Donovan added, her sharp eyes narrowing, "why are you sitting in that chair?"A younger executive—Thomas Bradford, barely forty, relatively new to the company—stepped forward aggressively. "I don't know who you think you ar

Alexander remained perfectly still, his posture relaxed as if he'd just completed the most ordinary action in the world rather than launching a projectile with lethal precision. His dark eyes swept across the boardroom, cataloging each face, each expression of shock and horror.The silence was absolute. Suffocating.No one dared move. No one dared speak. The shareholders and executives stood frozen like statues, their earlier bravado evaporated completely. They'd witnessed something that defied comprehension—a casual display of violence so controlled, so precise, that it spoke of skills far beyond normal human capability.Even the sound of breathing seemed too loud in the oppressive quiet.Martin Reeves remained on his knees, both hands pressed to his ruined mouth. Blood seeped between his fingers, dripping steadily onto the expensive carpet. His eyes were wide with shock, pupils dilated, chest heaving with rapid, shallow breaths.His mind struggled to process what had happened. One m

William Thompson straightened, his earlier fear transforming into something more calculated. He glanced at his brother David, and some unspoken understanding passed between them. When William spoke again, his tone had shifted—from defensive to mournful, dripping with false sincerity."You know what truly breaks my heart?" William's voice trembled with manufactured emotion. "It's not the accusations. It's not the forged documents. It's the betrayal."He placed a hand over his chest dramatically. "Alexander, we loved you. Despite everything—despite your father's early death, despite the struggles—we took you in. We raised you as one of our own. Robert treated you like a son!""That's right!" David seized on the narrative, his voice thick with fake sadness. "We gave you everything! The best education! The finest clothes! A position in the family business! And this is how you repay us? With lies and treachery?"Several shareholders shifted uncomfortably, the emotional manipulation working

The shareholders had assumed Victoria would be at the hospital, consumed with caring for Jason as he fought for his life in the ICU, or perhaps at Robert's bedside as he lay immobilized in his private recovery room. Her appearance here—disheveled, exhausted, but burning with purpose—caught everyone off guard.Alexander's lips tugged upward in the barest hint of a smile. He glanced at his watch with casual indifference, as if checking the time for a mildly interesting appointment rather than facing down the woman who'd helped destroy his life five years ago."You're late," he remarked, his tone conversational. "The meeting started twenty minutes ago."The casual dismissiveness of the comment—treating Victoria like a tardy employee rather than the wife of the CEO—sent a ripple of shock through the room.Victoria's head snapped toward him, her eyes narrowing to venomous slits. She stared at Alexander from the corner of her eyes, her contempt so thick it was almost tangible. A sneer twist