Chapter 7 - The Boardroom Siege
The 60th-floor boardroom of Kang Meridian Holdings was filled with twelve of the most powerful corporate directors in the country.
At the head of the long glass table sat Arthur Kang, wearing a triumphant smile, surrounded by three high-powered corporate attorneys.
"It's open and shut, ladies and gentlemen," Arthur proclaimed loudly, tapping a stack of legal documents. "My nephew was desperate. He found a financially ruined girl, paid off her family's debts, and manufactured a fake engagement to trick this board into letting him keep control of the trust. It is an absolute breach of fiduciary duty!"
The board members whispered among themselves, nodding grimly.
Suddenly, the heavy double doors of the boardroom were thrown open.
Adrian walked in, wearing an immaculate double-breasted charcoal suit. But he didn't walk in alone.
Beside him was Tessa, dressed in a sharp white power suit, carrying a leather briefcase. Her chin was held high, her posture commanding total respect as she walked into the room like she owned the entire skyscraper.
"Arthur," Adrian said coolly, taking his seat at the opposite end of the table. "I see you've already started the circus without us."
Arthur sneered. "Adrian, bringing your paid actress into this boardroom won't save you. We have her bank statements!"
"Yes, you do," Tessa spoke up, her voice cutting through the heavy boardroom air like a diamond blade. She opened her briefcase and pulled out a stack of tablet devices, sliding them down the glass table to each board member. "You have my bank statements because you illegally obtained them through a bribed private investigator named Marcus Vance."
Arthur’s smile faltered. "What?"
"Page three of the document in front of you," Tessa declared, stepping up beside Adrian’s chair, placing her hand firmly on his shoulder. "That is a sworn, notarized affidavit from the precinct commander Arthur paid fifteen thousand dollars to alter the original accident report from Peachtree Street."
The board members gasped, quickly tapping through the tablets.
"And page five," Adrian added, leaning forward, resting his forearms on the table, his dark eyes locking onto his uncle like a predator eyeing its prey, "is a financial wire trace showing Arthur Kang transferring two hundred thousand dollars from a shell company in the Cayman Islands to the journalist who published that smear article forty-eight hours ago."
Arthur jumped up from his chair, his face turning purple with rage. "This is a lie! This is fabricated nonsense!"
"It's not fabricated, Arthur," Tessa said softly, stepping closer to Arthur's end of the table. "You thought I hit Adrian’s car because I was distracted. But do you want to know the real reason I slammed into his hypercar that afternoon?"
The entire boardroom fell dead silent. Even Adrian looked up at her, surprised.
"I didn't crash into him because I was careless," Tessa said, looking Arthur dead in the eye. "I crashed into him because your hired driver in a silver SUV cut me off at the intersection, trying to force my car into the side of Adrian's vehicle to stage an accident before the trust deadline!"
She tapped the screen on the central display. A crisp 4K dashcam video—retrieved by Jin from a nearby security camera—played across the room. It clearly showed a silver SUV registered to Arthur’s private security firm aggressively maneuvering Tessa’s Honda Civic directly into the path of Adrian’s supercar!
"You didn't just sabotage your nephew, Mr. Kang," Tessa sneered coldly. "You attempted to murder me on a public street to steal a company."
The room erupted into chaos. Board members stood up, shouting in fury at Arthur.
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"Security!" the lead board director roared. "Escort Arthur Kang out of this building immediately! We are calling the federal prosecutors!"
Arthur looked around the room, paralyzed with shock, as four heavy security guards grabbed him by his arms and dragged him out of the boardroom, screaming threats until the doors slammed shut behind him.
