Chapter 286 Destroyed Her Family

Chapter 286 Destroyed Her Family
Vera's POV

I sat in my office, going through Lumina Studios' data reports. Recently, I'd been doing some undercover visits to check out our ongoing projects and releases.

What I found was that Lumina's productions—whether it was streaming series, reality shows, or documentary films—were actually pretty solid in terms of quality and creativity. Industry-wise, we were definitely holding our own. Our shows were getting decent viewership numbers, and the buzz on social media was positive.

Logically, the company's performance should be thriving, not barely breaking even with just a slim margin like the reports were showing.

But looking at all the financial statements, I couldn't spot the problem.

I'd even asked Atlas to take a look, and on the surface, everything checked out. Still, Atlas managed to find something fishy in one of the procurement reports.

He'd run an entertainment production company before, so he knew the business inside and out. He noticed that while Lumina's production resources—equipment rentals, location fees, post-production services—were all top-tier quality, the prices were still way higher than comparable market rates.

There was a strong possibility that someone was inflating costs and pocketing the difference, essentially embezzling company funds.

But here's the thing—production costs in the entertainment industry are notoriously unstable anyway, affected by factors like equipment availability, location demand, and post-production complexity.

If the people involved were working together and covering their tracks well, finding solid evidence would be nearly impossible.

I frowned and set down the stack of documents I'd been holding.

A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. "Come in," I called out.

Sage walked in carrying a folder. "Ms. Green, this is the creative proposal for our industry showcase submission. Could you take a look?"

I glanced at Sage, mentally scoffing.

Rose really didn't respect me as CEO at all, did she? For something this important, she couldn't even bother to report in person. Instead, she just handed the proposal to some assistant.

I kept my expression neutral as I took the folder and opened it. One look, and I had to suppress a laugh. Mediocre. Uninspired. Completely generic.

Rose wasn't even trying to hide the fact that she was phoning it in.

I closed the folder and handed it back to Sage with a smile. "Looks great. Let's go with this. Tell the creative department to submit it right away."

Sage accepted the folder happily. "Sure thing, Ms. Green."

After Sage left, Willow came in. She looked at me with some concern. "Ms. Green, I need to report something."

"What is it?" I asked with a smile.

Willow said, "I overheard Sage on the phone earlier. She said Rose wouldn't let the company's showcase submission succeed. Lumina has participated in every industry showcase for years and has an amazing track record. If we fail to get accepted this time, it'll tank our sales performance, damage your credibility within the company, and hurt your reputation in the industry. It could seriously undermine your position at Lumina going forward."

"I'm guessing the proposal she just gave you is designed to fail. Please don't fall for it."

After Sage had given Willow a hard time last time, I'd pretended to compromise on the surface—keeping Sage as executive assistant while moving Willow to a junior secretary position. Behind the scenes, though, I'd arranged for Willow to monitor Sage's every move.

Willow had been doing an excellent job, feeding me plenty of useful intel.

I smiled slightly. "You're absolutely right. That proposal definitely has problems. But I've got my own way of handling this. Just keep tabs on Sage for me."

---

By the time Atlas arrived, it was already past eight in the evening. I headed downstairs and spotted Atlas's car from a distance.

A smile automatically spread across my face, and my steps quickened without me even realizing it.

But just as I was getting close to the car, a woman suddenly rushed out from the side, swinging her purse at me.

"You homewrecking bitch! How dare you seduce my husband! I'll kill you!"

Caught completely off guard, the woman landed a hit on me.

As she wound up for a second strike, Atlas bolted out of the car. Unable to stop her in time, he pulled me into his arms and took the hit with his back.

James jumped out too, rushing over to restrain the woman.

Atlas anxiously checked me over. "Are you okay? Where did she get you?"

I rotated my arm where the woman had struck me and shook my head. "I'm fine."

Then Atlas turned around, his face darkening as he glared at the crazed woman James was holding back. His voice was ice-cold. "Call the legal department. I want her charged with assault."

"Got it." James started dragging the woman toward what I assumed would be the police station.

"Wait!" I called out, stopping James.

I walked up to the woman and asked, "Why would you attack me out of nowhere?"

"Out of nowhere? You seduced my husband! You destroyed my family! And you have the nerve to stand there acting innocent? I hope you die miserable!"

Hearing this, Atlas's expression turned cold as steel, and I could see his fists clenching.

Before he could say anything, James slapped the woman hard across the face. "Shut up!"

I was completely baffled. I pointed to Atlas standing beside me and said, "This is my husband. CEO of Blackwell Empire! Do I look stupid enough to go after someone else's man?"

The woman's eyes went wide with shock, and panic flashed across her face. "Blackwell Empire CEO? That's impossible! You're supposed to be single!"

Now I was certain. This woman had me confused with someone else. Annoyed, I said, "You can go ahead and check if you don't believe me. And another thing—who the hell is your husband anyway? Who are you even looking for?"

The woman said, "Aren't you Rose West, the Creative Director at Lumina?"