The boardroom felt colder than usual.
Evelyn stood to Wolfe's right, poised and unreadable, as the twelve members of Wolfe Global's executive board filtered in. Rhys was already seated, his hands folded in mock patience.
Alexander Wolfe entered last, flanked by his legal chief and CFO, eyes sweeping the room like a general surveying the battlefield. He met no one's gaze—but Evelyn knew he felt her there. Steady. With him.
"Let's begin," Wolfe said.
The chairman of the board cleared his throat. "Per Mr. Kellan's petition, this meeting is convened to determine whether his reinstatement as co-chairman is viable under the dormant charter clause."
Wolfe raised a hand. "Before we vote, I ask to address the board."
No objections. Only silence.
He stood. Straight-backed. Unshaken.
"For fifteen years, I've built this company on precision, vision, and risk. Rhys Kellan was once part of that—but he walked away when things got hard. I stayed. I bled for this tower. I sacrificed. I earned every window in this place."
He paused, eyes scanning faces.
"If you vote him back in, you are not honoring legacy. You are inviting sabotage. His leak wasn't carelessness. It was calculated. A move to force this meeting. A move to cripple us from within."
He stepped back. "Now vote. And understand this: whichever way this goes, I do not lose."
Gasps. Tension. A few side-glances.
The chairman looked around. "Board members, cast your vote."
One by one, they did. Digital. Anonymous. Immediate.
The results blinked to life on the screen.
7 to 5. Against Reinstatement.
Rhys stood slowly, the smile gone. "Well played."
Wolfe nodded. "Game's not over. But you just lost the board."
Rhys leaned close to Evelyn on his way out. "Careful, Miss Hart. The higher you climb, the harder the fall."
She didn't blink. "Then I'll build a stronger landing."
---
Later that night, the top floor was quiet again. Evelyn stepped into Wolfe's office where he sat alone in the dark, staring out at the city.
"You won," she said softly.
He didn't turn. "No. We did."
She came beside him, their reflection ghosted on the glass.
"This isn't the end, is it?" she asked.
"No," he said. "It's the beginning."
And in that quiet, Evelyn knew the war was far from over.
But they were no longer fighting alone.