Chapter 16 Blood in the Boardroom
By the time we reached Vale Tower, the sky over London was an iron gray, heavy and unforgiving. The building loomed like a monument to Damian's power - glass and steel, immaculate, untouchable. Until today.
The lobby was chaos. Reporters shouted questions; cameras flashed like lightning. Damian walked through them without flinching, security pushing back the storm. Every inch of him looked controlled - his dark suit perfect, his expression unreadable - but I could feel the fury simmering beneath his calm.
When the elevator doors closed, silence swallowed us. I stood beside him, watching the reflection of a man about to be publicly gutted.
"You don't have to come," he said quietly.
"I'm not leaving you to face them alone."
He didn't reply, but the muscle in his jaw twitched. That was enough.
The top floor was already full when we stepped out. Every board member was there. The air reeked of nerves and perfume and greed. And sitting at the head of the table - in his chair - was Ethan Vale.
Damian froze for half a heartbeat. Then he smiled - that cold, lethal smile that could end empires. "You've been busy, brother."
Ethan rose, adjusting his cufflinks. He looked like the polished twin of Damian - same dark hair, same sharp jawline - but where Damian's power came from control, Ethan's came from performance.
"I had to be," Ethan said smoothly. "Damage control waits for no one."
"Damage you created," Damian said.
A murmur went through the boardroom. Cameras from the press flickered at the far end. Someone was streaming this live.
Ethan raised a hand. "Let's not start with accusations. The evidence speaks for itself."
He tapped a remote. The screen behind him lit up - showing documents, financial transfers, email trails - all pointing to Damian selling classified contracts to foreign buyers.
Gasps rippled through the room.
"That's impossible," I whispered.
Ethan's gaze slid toward me. "Miss Rivera. Still defending him?"
I met his stare. "I know what forgery looks like."
"Do you?" he said softly. "Because the government doesn't seem to agree."
He turned to the board. "As of this morning, Vale Industries is under investigation. The authorities have frozen Damian's accounts pending inquiry. The stock has fallen twenty percent in four hours."
The chairman cleared his throat. "We have to act. The shareholders demand stability."
Ethan nodded, voice smooth and calm. "Exactly why I propose we appoint interim leadership - effective immediately."
It was a coup. Clean, quiet, corporate murder.
Damian didn't blink. "You always wanted my seat, Ethan. Now you've built your throne out of lies."
Ethan smiled faintly. "Truth is relative, brother. You taught me that."
The room erupted in debate. Board members whispered, weighed, shifted. Damian stood unmoved, silent - the eye of the storm.
I looked at the screen again, scanning the data, my pulse hammering. Then I saw it - a single line of code in the metadata. Encrypted via Armond link.
"Damian," I hissed. "This wasn't Ethan alone. It's linked to Armond."
His eyes met mine for a split second - sharp, calculating. He understood.
But before he could speak, the chairman slammed the gavel. "All in favor of appointing Ethan Vale as acting CEO until the investigation clears Damian Vale?"
Hands rose around the table. One after another.
Damian didn't look away from his brother. "Enjoy the crown, Ethan. It always fit you better when it wasn't yours."
Ethan's smile didn't falter. "Step aside, Damian. You've done enough damage."
Security approached, waiting for an order.
For a long moment, no one breathed. Then Damian gave a small nod, pure defiance wrapped in elegance. "I built this empire from nothing. Don't forget whose name is carved into every wall."
He turned and walked out. No glance back. No words. Just quiet fury.
I followed, my chest tight. Cameras flashed as we entered the elevator again. His reflection looked calm, but his hands - his hands were trembling.
In the silence, I whispered, "You can still fight this."
He didn't look at me. "It's not over. Not yet."
"What are you going to do?"
He finally turned his head, eyes dark as obsidian. "If Ethan wants war, I'll give him one."
When we reached the lobby, the noise hit like thunder. Reporters swarmed, shouting his name, accusing, questioning. Damian didn't respond. He simply walked through them like a shadow, untouchable - until one question made him stop.
"Mr. Vale! Is it true your own brother exposed your affair to the media?"
My breath caught.
Damian's jaw flexed. He said nothing - but that silence was an answer.
As the doors closed behind us, I realized the truth: Ethan hadn't just taken his company.
He'd taken his reputation. His name. Me.
And somewhere deep inside, a part of Damian Vale - the part that once believed in loyalty - died.
But something new was born in its place.
Something colder.
Something dangerous.
The war for Vale Industries had just begun.