The boardroom felt colder than usual. Elena Roth sat at the head of the long mahogany table, flanked by stern faces and murmured side conversations. Her tailored navy suit, crisp and commanding, couldn't conceal the weariness etched into her eyes. For the third time that week, she was defending her position and birthright to a board that viewed her as a temporary placeholder rather than the rightful CEO of Roth Industries.
Victor Crane leaned back in his chair, the picture of calm arrogance. His salt-and-pepper hair was slicked back, and his smile tight-lipped and snake-like never reached his hazel eyes. Every time Elena made a point, he offered a faint smirk, like he already knew the outcome of a game she hadn't realized she was playing.
"Miss Roth," he said smoothly, cutting into her mid-sentence. "Your projections are... optimistic. Bold, even. But perhaps too bold, given the current instability within the company."
She didn't flinch, but her jaw tightened. "Roth Industries was built on bold ideas, Mr. Crane. I have no intention of steering it with fear."
Murmurs buzzed around the table. Harold Beckett, the gruff and aging Chairman of the Board, glanced between the two of them with narrowed eyes, but stayed silent for now.
Victor continued, casually tapping a pen against the table. "You're young. Visionary, perhaps. But this company needs steady leadership. Someone... less emotional. More experienced."
There it was, the attack behind the smile. Elena opened her mouth to respond, but paused. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a reaction. Instead, she leaned forward slowly, eyes locked with him.
"My father trusted me with this company," she said, voice cold as steel. "That's the only qualification I need."
Victor's eyes glinted. "Your father trusted many people, Elena. Doesn't mean he was right about all of them."
A beat of silence. The insult landed like a slap, not just to her, but to her father's legacy.
Outside the boardroom, Liam Carter moved quietly past the frosted glass wall, catching sight of Elena seated at the head of the table. Her shoulders were tense, but her posture never faltered. He paused just a second too long.
A shadow moved behind him. Mia Ellis, clipboard in hand, lips curled in a smile that didn't match her eyes. "Admiring the queen from afar?" she asked coolly.
Liam straightened. "Just making a delivery."
"Of course," Mia said, brushing past him toward the boardroom doors. "You're quite the efficient one, aren't you?"
Liam's eyes flickered to the room again, unease rising in his chest. There was something off in the way Victor sat so confident, so calculating. Something Liam recognized from his old life. The look of someone who already had leverage.
Inside, Victor rose from his chair just as the meeting ended. As members began to file out, he stopped beside Elena and leaned in just slightly close enough that only she could hear.
"Watch your allies carefully," he whispered. "Sometimes the knife comes from the hand you're holding."
Elena didn't react, didn't blink. But her fingers, resting on the armrest, curled into a fist.
"Thanks for the warning," she said. "I'll be sure to start with you."
Victor laughed softly, then walked away, shaking hands and flashing smiles to the existing board members like a well-fed wolf.
Elena sat still for a moment after the room emptied, trying to steady her racing heart. She didn't trust him. She never had. But this felt different. There was something in his tone, the confidence in his eyes as if he knew something she didn't.
Her phone buzzed.
One new message from Sophie: "You need to see what just hit the gossip sites. Call me NOW."
Elena stood quickly, pushing the heavy chair back as Liam stepped into her line of sight outside the door. Their eyes met through the glass, his brow furrowed with concern.
Something was coming. Elena could feel it in her bones.
And if Victor Crane thought she'd be an easy pawn to topple, he was about to learn what happened when you underestimated a Roth.