It had only been a week since the courtroom victory, yet the pressure already felt heavier than the chains Hana once wore.
Boardroom lights gleamed coldly as executives gathered for her first meeting as CEO. Many faces were unfamiliar—some loyal, some skeptical. Some? Watching her, waiting for her to fail.
Mi-Ho stood behind her like a silent shield.
"I won't pretend to be perfect," Hana began, facing the room head-on. "But I do know what it means to be stepped on—and what it means to rise again. I don't run this company alone. We rise together, or we fall apart."
A ripple of surprise passed over the room. Respect slowly started to take root.
After the meeting, Mi-Ho nudged her arm. "That was CEO material."
Hana gave a small smile. "Let's see how long I last before they try to bite."
But in the shadows, a new player was watching—a rival heiress who saw Hana's rise not as an inspiration… but as a threat.