Chapter 237

Chapter 237

The man's expression instantly darkened, but he knew he was in the wrong, so he couldn't say anything to defend himself.

People raised a lot of questions, mostly about work and money — when you got down to it, it was all about money.

All the twists and turns led back to the same thing: money.

I curled the corner of my lips and tapped the table with my fingers in a steady rhythm.

"Everyone, calm down. Let's save the money talk for last — and honestly, whether all of you will still be here by then is anyone's guess."

The room went still. People exchanged confused glances, clearly unsure what I meant.

I continued. "Over the past few days, I've been looking into the company's financials and projects. Quite the show, I have to say. Aiden's relatives really are cut from the same cloth."

Every face in the room shifted. Eyes darted away. No one could look at me.

The air in the conference room felt like it had frozen solid.

I kept smiling — a smile loaded with contempt.

Watching everyone squirm, I went on slowly, "Would you like to come clean yourselves, or would you rather I spell it out? Because those two options carry very different consequences."

Some stared at the floor. Others looked away. Nobody wanted to be the first to speak.

They were still holding onto hope that maybe, just maybe, I didn't have everything.

"Fine. Since no one's talking, I'll get started."

"The Cavendish Group is not a big company — it's not even particularly impressive among small ones. Pretty unremarkable, honestly. These past few years, it's only kept running because I've been driving projects from behind the scenes. I've worked with Amora on multiple deals alone. That I'm Amora's founder is public knowledge — no one disputes that."

"Mr. Green — on the project with Amora two years ago, you quoted us twenty million, then reported twenty-five million to the parent company and pocketed the five million difference."

"Mr. Perez — last year's product launch, you passed off fakes as the real thing, which triggered a wave of complaints against the Amora brand. I brought in PR to handle it quietly out of respect for Chase, and I never pushed for a full investigation. But I know exactly what you walked away with."

"And Mr. Phillips — Aiden's good friend. The two of you were in it together. You inflated material costs on paper, then switched to cheaper substitutes once contracts were signed. That drove away partners and played a major role in this company's decline."

I went through nearly everyone in the room, laying out their misconduct one by one, each point backed by evidence. Whenever someone tried to argue, I put the proof in front of them and shut them down.

By the time I finished, over half an hour had passed. The conference room was dead silent. Everyone was visibly shaking.

I looked up slowly and scanned the room. This was the moment — I held every card, and everyone knew it.

"You can either return the money and resign voluntarily, or I will call the police. Your choice." I leaned back in my chair and watched them all with a calm, almost amused look.

The shock on their faces said everything.

After a long silence, Aiden's close friend Henry Phillips slammed his hands on the table and snapped, "This is all nonsense! And who do you think you are, dragging up things from the past? You've got a lot of nerve!"

"You're the last person in this room with any right to speak," I said flatly. "You and Aiden did the most damage — by far."

Henry's face went through several shades, cycling between pale and flushed, ugly as anything.

I turned to the rest of the room. "And the rest of you — all Aiden's relatives. Get out, every one of you. And since you're all so close to Aiden, I don't think I need to explain much about his background, do I?"

Mentioning Aiden's background hit a nerve. Most faces changed immediately. A few looked lost.

"What background?"

"What does she mean by that?"

I smiled. "Seems like that's been kept under wraps pretty well. Aiden is not Chase's biological child — he was adopted. So by any measure, the Cavendish family assets have no reason to end up in his hands."

That landed like a bomb. The ones who hadn't known were completely blindsided.

Then the door flew open with a bang. Eleanor stormed in. "Charlotte, I'm reporting you for unlawful detention!"

"Go ahead. No one's stopping you."

"Don't listen to her! Everyone here is family or close friends of the Cavendishes. This is a Cavendish company. Even if my father goes to prison, it will never fall into the hands of an outsider!"

People looked at each other, unsure what to make of Eleanor or what to do.

I watched her outburst without reacting.

"The Cavendish name will always belong to this family — that will never change! What we need to do right now is stand together and force Charlotte out. Why are we letting her run wild in here?"

I could see exactly what Eleanor was trying to do — rally everyone against me.

But no one in that room was going to take the bait. Their dirty laundry was already out in the open, and these were smart people. They weren't about to make the same mistake Eleanor was making.

I said quietly, "Anyone who wants to side with Eleanor is welcome to spend the rest of their life in prison."

Those words hit like a blade. The color drained from every face in the room.

One person stood up, voice trembling. "I… I'll return everything. And I'll resign. Can you let me go?"

I nodded. "Yes. Return the full amount. No tricks."

"Of course. Absolutely."

One by one, others began to come forward. I had Cindy take down everything, and I assigned my own people to accompany each of them as they cleared out their things.

"For those who've come clean, you have three days to return the money, however you manage it. Once that's done, this is over. I won't blacklist you in the industry. You can move on and find other work. This is your last chance. Anyone who refuses can deal with the legal process instead."

One by one, everyone chose to cooperate. Compared to prison, even losing everything they had seemed like the better option.

Watching everyone abandon her, Eleanor's face fell completely. She sucked in a sharp breath and stood frozen, not knowing what to do.

Within moments, the conference room was down to three of us.

My people had already fanned out to keep watch, so I sent Cindy back to the office to put together a full breakdown of the company's staff and department structure.

That left just me and Eleanor.

"So," I said, looking at her. "Still want to keep fighting? Go ahead. Let's see what you've got left." My voice was pure contempt.

Her fists clenched at her sides. Her face was a mix of fear and desperation.