THE HIDDEN HEIR'S VENGEANCE

CHAPTER 29 : The Purge of the Inner Circle

Matthew turned his gaze to Carol. The elderly woman seemed to shrink into her chair. Her legendary arrogance collapsed in the face of facts laid bare.

“And you, Carol,” Matthew said, his voice softening, which only made it more terrifying. “You allowed this to happen. You cared more about your social status than your husband’s legacy. You almost sold your own daughter, Viviane, to Reginald Holt for a cash infusion that Dimitri was going to steal as well.”

“This is ridiculous, Matthew,” Carol hissed, her voice trembling between anger and fear. “You think that just because you won a few contracts, you can dictate who sits on this board? This is the company my husband built.”

“The company you nearly bankrupted, Carol,” Matthew replied flatly. His voice was not loud, yet it echoed with an authority that silenced the room.

Matthew felt a sharp sting at his temple, a small price for total dominance. “Display it,” he ordered quietly.

The massive screen on the boardroom wall lit up. Not a boring PowerPoint slide, but a real-time market simulation in violent motion. Red graphs plunged steeply downward.

“What is this?” one of the older board members asked.

“This is the future of Lane Corp under Dimitri’s control,” Matthew said, slowly circling the table. “My system has simulated a thousand global market scenarios over the next five years. In every scenario where Dimitri remains in charge, Lane Corp liquidates its core assets within eighteen months.”

“Nonsense! It’s just computer graphics!” Dimitri shouted.

Matthew turned and locked eyes with him. “Is it? Then explain your personal account in the Cayman Islands that just received a two-million-dollar transfer this morning because you knew our stock would collapse if this meeting failed, didn’t you? You bet against your own company.”

Dimitri’s face went deathly pale. The entire board turned toward him in horror. The old man could not say another word.

Matthew shifted his attention back to Carol. “Carol, I am giving you a choice. Retire with dignity and relinquish your voting rights while continuing to receive dividends. Enjoy your old age in the Hamptons and never set foot in this building for business again. Or I will allow the board to see your personal financial projections if Lane Corp collapses.”

Carol looked to her daughter, searching for sympathy. “Viviane? You are going to let your husband do this to your own mother?”

Viviane took a long breath. Her face hardened, though sadness lingered in her eyes. “Mom… you almost sold me to the Holt family for money. Matthew saved us. He saved Father’s company. It’s time for you to rest.”

A painful silence settled over the room. Carol slowly released her grip on the chair. Her shoulders sagged. She seemed to age ten years in ten seconds.

“Fine,” Carol whispered. “I step down.”

“And Dimitri,” Matthew continued, “you are terminated, without severance, for the insider trading you just committed, and I will not submit your tax evasion evidence to the FBI.”

Dimitri stared at him in shock, unable to argue. With trembling hands, he gathered his belongings and left the room, followed by the board members’ looks of disgust.

Matthew returned to his seat and faced the remaining board members. “Effective immediately, Viviane Lane is the sole CEO of Lane Corp. I will remain as Chief Strategy Officer. Any objections?”

No one dared to breathe, let alone object. Every board member present silently accepted the resolution.

“Good. Meeting adjourned.”

When the room finally emptied, Viviane slumped slightly in her chair and let out a long breath. “You were brutal, Matt.”

Matthew stepped closer, resting a hand on his wife’s shoulder and massaging gently. “It was necessary, Vie... for what lies ahead, we cannot afford to carry dead weight.”

“What lies ahead?” Viviane asked, looking at him with a mix of admiration and unease. “You talk as if this is only the beginning.”

“Because it is,” Matthew replied. He felt another pulse of pain in his head, followed by a blue hologram flickering across his retina.

[Mission Complete: Internal Purge]

[Reward: Full Authority over Lane Corp & Viviane Loyalty Points +20]

[Warning: Neural Stress Level 78%. Rest is advised.]

Matthew ignored the warning. “We have one week to restructure everything, Viviane. After that... the world will see who we really are.”

***

One week later, two in the morning.

A week passed in a haze of relentless activity. Lane Corp had stabilized under Viviane’s leadership, while Matthew pulled the strategic strings from the shadows. But tonight, that fragile calm was shattered.

Matthew stood on the balcony of his penthouse overlooking Central Park West. The cold New York night wind lashed against his face, but he did not feel it.

He stared at the glittering city lights below, feeling detached. Since ARC had activated, he felt increasingly distant from ordinary humanity. He no longer saw the world as people and emotions but as numbers, probabilities, and risks.

Inside the bedroom, Viviane was fast asleep. Matthew was grateful that his wife could rest. For him, however, sleep was a rare luxury. His mind never stopped racing, permanently tethered to streams of global data.

Suddenly, his vision distorted. The physical world before him fractured, replaced by a painful layer of red digital interference.

[OMEGA PRIORITY ALARM]

[Incoming Signal Detected: Ancient Encryption Level 9]

[Source: Archon Internal Network, Vienna]

Matthew groaned, gripping the balcony railing. It felt as if a bar of molten iron had been pressed directly against his cerebral cortex. This was no ordinary notification but a call carried in ancestral blood.

“ARC, translate,” he ordered, cold sweat soaking his back.

The voice in his head was not human but a resonance of data responding.

[Encryption Level 9. Requires 2000 ARC Energy Units.]

[Consequence: Severe migraine for 2 hours with risk of nosebleed and disorientation.]

[Proceed?]

“Do it,” Matthew growled.

The pain exploded, slamming into his skull like a sledgehammer.

Matthew dropped to his knees on the cold marble of the balcony. Fresh blood streamed from his nose, splattering against the white stone. Through the agony, a distorted yet commanding voice echoed directly inside his head.

“To the Exiled Architect, cast aside and forgotten. The blood of Vance calls to you. They know you have risen and claimed ARC. Julian Vance has begun activating the Guardians. They fear you will tear open the curtain of the Consortium before the world. They are not coming to negotiate. They are coming to erase you from history. Vienna Headquarters has issued a liquidation order under your name. Not your assets, but your life. Find the Key of Legacy before they do. Find the Romanov Ring in Geneva before they burn the world to find you.”

The message ended with a piercing whine that left Matthew’s ears ringing.