Infinite Wealth: Revenge of the Lost Heir

CHAPTER 4: THE GHOST'S GAME AND THE COLLAPSE OF ARROGANCE

At nine o'clock in the morning, the top floor of the Vance Corporation building in Manhattan looked tense yet animated. The main boardroom, with its large glass walls, had been filled by the lineup of the board of directors and big-fish investors of New York. At the end of the table, Ryan Vance stood in a custom designer suit worth tens of thousands of dollars. His face radiated a self-confidence that was borderline arrogant.

"Thank you for the presence of all shareholders," Ryan said loudly, commanding the podium with a dominant gesture. "After the tragedy that befell the late Julian Vance, I will ensure that the Vance Corporation continues to grow. Today, I present the newest property project worth ten million dollars in the center of Manhattan."

Hearing that convincing presentation, several investors appeared to nod with satisfaction, assuming the business wheels of the Vance dynasty would be safe under the control of the new successor.

However, on the other side of the city, a different reality was at work. Julian sat quietly in Chloe's simple apartment. Through the screen of that cracked old laptop, he witnessed the entire course of the meeting live. The System had taken over the Vance Corporation's security network without leaving even a shred of cyber trace.

"Enjoy the last few minutes of your glory," Julian murmured softly. His fingers moved constantly, then pressed the Enter key with a single, firm stroke.

Instantly in the meeting room, the projector screen suddenly flickered unstably. Ryan furrowed his brow. The profit charts he had proudly displayed just a moment ago suddenly disappeared from the screen. In their place, dozens of federal audit documents appeared sequentially, filling the projector.

Ryan's face turned deathly pale instantly. "No..."

The investors in the room began to read the documents thoroughly. The further they read, the worse the expressions printed on the faces of those Wall Street executives became.

"Legal dispute zone?" "Audit forgery?" "Illegal funds flow?" "Ryan, what on earth is this?!" snapped one of the senior directors in a thundering tone.

Ryan hurriedly shook his head, trying to control the panic that was beginning to choke his throat. "This is fake! Someone has hacked our company's system!"

However, before he could explain any further to save his position, the screen changed again. This time, what appeared was no longer a stack of black-and-white documents, but a video recording. A video of himself with Amber Miller.

The room instantly froze like ice. Several investors even stood up directly from their chairs with looks of disbelief. They all recognized Amber. The woman was the fiancée of the late Julian Vance, a figure who until now had been massively publicized as the future leading lady of the Vance family. Yet now, the entirety of their sordid affair and disgusting infidelity was played without censor in front of everyone.

Ryan's victorious smile completely vanished, replaced by acute despair. "Turn off that screen!" he barked hysterically at his staff. "NOW!"

The IT team ran frantically in the corner of the room, trying to cut the power. Still, their efforts were in vain because the entire system had been locked dead by the System's technology. Not a single human in the building could stop it.

Then, the final blow from Julian arrived. A confidential internal document suddenly appeared on the screen. The document contained a draft of a news release that had not yet been released to the public; an official narrative that had been quietly prepared by the Vance family themselves. A manipulative narrative stating that Julian had suffered from severe depression and chose to commit suicide with his car due to a broken heart.

The room suddenly fell into a dead silence, leaving a suffocating tension. No one inside there was a fool. They instantly understood the intent of the document. The Vance family was trying to control public opinion and manufacture the cause of Julian's death even before the official police investigation was completed. Several investors began to exchange glances. Suspicion grew fertile, and distrust began to spread widely among the shareholders. And for a corporation, the loss of trust from Wall Street was far more dangerous than a mere ten-million-dollar financial loss.

"Father..." Ryan's voice began to tremble violently. For the first time since the chaos began, he turned to Arthur Vance.

The old man did not speak. He did not shout or smash the vanity table in front of him. Arthur showed no emotion whatsoever on the lines of his face. He just sat quietly. Too quietly. Yet, it was precisely because of that reaction that Ryan felt an extraordinary cold chill run down his spine. He knew his father's temperament very well. And he knew that a completely silent Arthur was far more terrifying than a raging Arthur.

"Father, I can explain everything..." Ryan whimpered with the remnants of his courage.

Arthur finally looked at him. A gaze that was vacant, cold, and utterly devoid of emotion. "Meeting adjourned."

Just two words. However, the entire room instantly felt frozen. Without waiting for a second command, the investors began to stand up and, one by one, left the room in silence. No one else wanted to listen to Ryan's presentation. No one else believed in the ten-million-dollar project he prided himself on. As the directors walked out, several of them even looked at Ryan with a clearly expressed gaze of disgust.

In less than an hour, the credibility Ryan had built by getting rid of his brother was completely destroyed. Ryan clenched his fists tightly until they shook, his face flushed crimson from immense shame. However, deep down in his heart, a new fear began to grow. Because now he realized; someone was hunting him from behind the darkness. Someone who knew too many of their dark secrets, and that person was clearly no ordinary business enemy.

In the lower district studio apartment, Julian closed his laptop slowly. The expression on his face remained flat and calm, as if he had just finished a simple administrative task. The next second, the sapphire-blue semi-transparent panel appeared floating in front of him.

[Notification: Phase I Main Mission Complete.]

[Ryan Vance's credibility has been completely destroyed.]

[Reward Granted:]

Ownership of 15% Shares of Blackwood Capital.

Full Access Rights to Amber Miller's Personal Account Data.

A thin smile—cold and sharp—appeared at the corner of Julian's lips. Blackwood Capital. Now he officially possessed his first solid foothold to attack and pin down the movements of the Vance Corporation legally from outside the family system.

However, what caught Julian's attention far more at this moment was the second reward from the System. Amber Miller. The woman who had been spending his money without guilt, now had all of her financial secrets under his control.

Julian opened Amber's personal account encrypted data. And within seconds after those lines of transactions opened, Julian's pair of eyes suddenly narrowed sharply. There was something highly interesting there. Something illegal, secret, and never known by anyone within the Vance family. Not even by Ryan.

"Not just a traitor..." Julian whispered into the darkness of the night, with a gleam of revenge growing thicker as it filled his eyes. "It turns out you are also a thief, Amber."

Amber Miller might think that today was the worst day of her life because her cheating scandal was exposed. Whereas for Julian, this was just a small beginning. The real game had not even truly started.