Chapter 98 Shareholders' Meeting

Chapter 98 Shareholders' Meeting

Thomas said nothing. His eyes stayed fixed on the shattered phone screen mounted on the wall, its spiderweb cracks catching the light.

Behind him, Susan slipped her phone from her pocket and typed a short message to Oscar: [The fish is in the net.]

Across town, Sophia was in Henry's office, working through the cipher of an old document when Edward walked in.

"Oscar really leaked the news?" she asked without looking up.

"Leaked? He staged it," Edward said, sliding a printed shareholder list across the desk. "He forged Mr. Thomas Caldwell's signature and transferred the shares of three senior board members into Thomas's name."

Henry, who had been on the phone by the window, turned at that. His expression was unreadable.

"Looks like Oscar is in a hurry," Henry said.

"He's in a hurry to make us fight each other," Sophia replied, pushing the list toward him. "These three were loyal to your grandfather. They value hierarchy above all else. Supporting Thomas would be unthinkable."

"So it's a setup," Henry concluded, eyes narrowing.

"He left the trail on purpose," Sophia said, "so we'd think Thomas is a fool. Meanwhile, it keeps our eyes off him."

Henry tapped the list with one finger. "And gives him space to dig into the core files of the Black Ice Project."

Their eyes met. No more words were needed.

Oscar's move was ruthless—using Thomas as a shield while stirring chaos in the Caldwell family. Two birds, one stone.

"At the shareholders' meeting, have Edward keep eyes on him," Henry said, grabbing his coat. "I'll take a team to Warehouse Three. I want to see what he's after."

"I'm coming with you," Sophia said, slipping the half-decoded telegram into her bag. "If he's throwing up a smoke screen, there's something at that warehouse he doesn't want us to see."

Henry studied the resolve in her eyes, then reached out and ruffled her hair. His fingers brushed through the soft strands. Both froze for a heartbeat.

"Be careful," he said quietly, withdrawing his hand, a faint heat on his ears. "Don't keep trying to take the hits alone."

Sophia's pulse jumped unexpectedly. She lowered her head to gather her papers, but the corner of her mouth betrayed a small smile. "Same to you."

In the break room, Oscar tipped a cup of cold coffee into the sink. The dark liquid spiraled away into the drain, vanishing into shadow.

He caught his own reflection in the mirror and allowed himself a thin, humorless smile.

'Henry. Sophia. The show is just getting started,' he thought.

His fingers tapped lightly on the leather of a document folder, leaving faint impressions.

The hospital room smelled faintly of antiseptic, laced with the sweet, cloying perfume Susan wore—a sweetness edged with danger.

"Mr. Oscar Caldwell," she said, curling up against the headboard, idly turning the diamond bracelet he had given her, "this little 'murder by proxy' trick of yours is cleaner than pulling the trigger yourself. Let Thomas make a scene at the shareholders' meeting, let you and Henry tear each other apart, and you get to walk away with the prize."

Oscar smiled, pouring a glass of red wine. The liquid swirled in the crystal, catching the light.

"Miss Simmons sees the board well enough," he said. "But I'm less interested in the prize than in watching Henry fall from his pedestal."

He let the thought hang for a beat, then brushed his fingertips across her hand. "Opportunities to drive Henry into a corner don't come often."

Susan drained the glass in one swallow, catching a faint, bitter note on her tongue. She leaned in, her breath warm against his ear.

"And Sophia? She's a tougher opponent than Henry."

Oscar's gaze cooled. "I've planted a trap in the Caldwell Corporation's server. The moment she tries to crack the Black Ice Project's core files, an alert will go off. Once the board sees her as a corporate spy, Henry won't be able to save her."

He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "And I've arranged a surprise to make sure she doesn't walk away."

Susan's lips curved. She hooked a finger into his tie, pulling him closer. "Not afraid I'll tell Thomas?"

"You won't," Oscar said, catching her chin between his fingers. "Because you know better than I do—Thomas can't protect you for long."

Oscar's trap was well hidden. Sophia had been over the system multiple times before she found it. If she hadn't installed a reverse-trace program beforehand, she might have walked right into it.

"Found his backdoor," she murmured, hitting the final key. 

A locked folder popped up on the screen, marked with the icon of a blooming poppy.

Inside were Oscar's transaction records with the Midnight Accord Organization—and several recorded calls with foreign operatives.

"Cold-blooded," she muttered. 

She backed up the files to the cloud and copied them to an encrypted flash drive.

Her phone rang. Joseph's face appeared on the video call, the camera shaking as he crouched behind a shipping container.

Through his lens, a group of black-clad men were loading wooden crates into a truck. Each crate was stamped with a skull emblem.

"Miss Bennett," Joseph whispered, "Oscar told them to move tonight. He wants you—before the shareholders' meeting—"

"I know," Sophia cut in. "Get out. Don't get spotted."

She hung up and pulled up the dock's security feed. Knives glinted at the waists of the black-clad men. One turned his head, and she recognized him instantly—the man in the floral shirt who had attacked her in the alley.

"So they've decided to bring the fight to me," she said with a cold smile, fingers flying over the keyboard.

A moment later, the dock's fire alarms blared. Red strobes flashed across the warehouse. On the monitors, the men scattered in panic. The truck didn't get far before police intercepted it.

Sophia was just starting to breathe again when the office door swung open.

Rain had been falling in Virensia for days. Henry stood in the doorway, his shoulders dusted with droplets, eyes sharp with concern.

"You all right?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she said, holding up the flash drive. "Oscar just sent us a 'gift'."

Henry stepped closer, his gaze moving to the transaction records on her screen. 

His frown deepened. "His dealings with the Midnight Accord Organization run deeper than we thought."

He brushed a strand of hair from her shoulder. "At the meeting, I'll have Edward on him. You—"

"I'm going," she said, meeting his eyes, a spark of mischief there. "Wouldn't miss the show."

He chuckled, ruffling her hair. "Be careful."

"Got it," she said, feeling her cheeks warm as she looked away. "Oh, and I cracked my father's coded map."

She opened the file. A hand-drawn map filled the screen, marked with strange symbols.