Eighty-nine stories above the concrete veins of Manhattan, the Vance Tower stood as a monument to absolute power.

The emergency board meeting was a slaughterhouse.

Julian, desperate and cornered, tried to rally the board against Evelyn, arguing that her reckless decision to launch the unstable Beta-compound was the true crime.

“She risked the lives of our consumers to win a pissing contest with a corporate raider!” Julian shouted across the massive glass table. “She is a liability!”

Evelyn sat at the head of the table, perfectly composed. She wore a sharp, charcoal tailored suit—a suit of armor.

“Julian is right,” Evelyn said. The room fell into a stunned silence. Even Julian looked confused.

“I launched a volatile product,” Evelyn continued, her voice echoing in the vast room. “I took a calculated risk. And yes, fifty women had adverse reactions. It is a tragedy, and AURELIA will pay their medical bills and settle out of court for an exorbitant sum.”

She stood up, resting her knuckles on the glass.

“But let’s talk about the alternative. Had I done nothing, Marcus Thorne’s generic would have bankrupted us in a week. We would all be standing in the unemployment line. AURELIA would be sold for parts.”

She pressed a remote in her hand. A chart appeared on the projector.

“Despite the PR crisis, Lumière Prime is the best-selling cosmetic in the world right now. The stock dipped 15% today, yes. But it is still up 40% for the quarter. I didn’t just save your portfolios; I made you richer than you were a month ago.”

She turned her gaze to Julian, her eyes burning like blue ice.

“Julian, however, committed corporate espionage. He sold our intellectual property. I have the wire transfers, the encrypted emails, and his thumbprint data on the R&D servers.”

She looked at the board members, powerful men and women who cared only for the bottom line. “You have a choice. You can fire the woman who made you billionaires. Or you can help me throw the traitor to the wolves.”