CHAPTER EIGHT:THE FIRST BLOW
1069 Words
Silence swallowed the boardroom.
Every board member stared at the woman standing confidently at the end of the polished conference table.
Aurora Blake.
The name meant nothing to them.
Yet the certainty in her voice commanded the room.
Selena recovered first.
She forced a polite smile, though her fingernails dug painfully into her palm.
"I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding, Miss Blake."
"There is no legal dispute concerning this company."
Aurora smiled.
"I wish that were true."
She opened her leather portfolio and placed three sealed folders on the table.
"I represent a private investment group with financial interests connected to Vale Biotech."
"The documents inside these folders suggest otherwise."
The chairman adjusted his glasses.
"What exactly are you implying?"
Aurora's expression remained calm.
"I'm implying that approving today's transfer without reviewing these documents could expose every member of this board to criminal liability."
The room exploded into whispers.
Several directors immediately reached for the folders.
Selena's heart pounded.
No.
That wasn't supposed to happen.
No one should have known.
She had spent years making sure every trail disappeared.
Who was this woman?
Damien never took his eyes off Aurora.
She stood with remarkable composure.
Confident.
Measured.
Fearless.
Something about her reminded him of Ariana during negotiations.
She had always entered a room quietly, then dismantled every argument with facts instead of emotion.
His chest tightened.
For a moment, he almost forgot to breathe.
Impossible.
Ariana was dead.
He had buried her himself.
Then why...
Why did this stranger make his heart ache?
One of the directors opened the folder.
His expression changed instantly.
"What is this?"
Aurora folded her hands.
"Financial records."
"Several transactions involving Vale Biotech appear to have been routed through offshore companies."
Another director flipped through the pages.
"These signatures..."
He looked toward Selena.
"They're yours."
Selena's smile finally disappeared.
"Those are fabricated."
Aurora tilted her head slightly.
"Are they?"
She pressed a button on a small remote.
The projector behind the chairman came to life.
A series of bank transfers appeared on the screen.
Every payment matched the documents inside the folders.
Dates.
Amounts.
Account numbers.
Nothing had been overlooked.
The chairman slowly stood.
"Miss Vale..."
"Can you explain these transactions?"
Selena felt the room closing around her.
"They were approved investments."
Aurora spoke before anyone else could.
"Interesting."
She clicked the remote again.
A new slide appeared.
Photographs of empty warehouses.
Abandoned office buildings.
Vacant lots.
"The companies receiving these funds don't actually exist."
Another uneasy silence followed.
The directors exchanged nervous glances.
One by one...
Their confidence in Selena began to crumble.
Outside the boardroom...
Ethan stood quietly near the elevators, speaking into a wireless earpiece.
"Status."
A calm voice answered.
"Our team is monitoring every exit."
"What about the accountant?"
"He's here."
"And the lawyer?"
"He just arrived."
Ethan nodded.
"Good."
"No one leaves until Aurora finishes."
He ended the call and looked through the glass wall toward the boardroom.
Everything was unfolding exactly as planned.
Almost.
His phone vibrated again.
A text message flashed across the screen.
TARGET MOVING.
His expression hardened.
Another player had entered the game.
Back inside...
Selena's lawyer finally stood.
"My client has done nothing illegal."
Aurora met his gaze.
"I'm glad to hear that."
"Then she won't object to an independent forensic audit."
The lawyer hesitated.
Selena answered before he could.
"Of course not."
Aurora smiled again.
"Excellent."
She slid another envelope across the table.
"In that case..."
"...please explain why these deleted accounting records were recovered from your company's private server last week."
Selena froze.
Deleted?
She had personally ordered those files destroyed.
How could anyone have recovered them?
Her breathing quickened.
She looked at the directors.
Their expressions had changed completely.
The admiration was gone.
Now...
There was only suspicion.
Damien leaned toward Noah.
"Find out everything you can about Aurora Blake."
Noah nodded.
"I already started."
"And?"
"Nothing unusual."
"That's the unusual part."
Damien frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"It's as though she appeared out of nowhere three years ago."
Damien looked back toward Aurora.
She noticed him watching.
For the briefest second...
Their eyes met.
His heartbeat stumbled.
Those eyes.
Different color.
Different woman.
Yet somehow...
They carried the same quiet strength Ariana once had.
Aurora calmly looked away before he could read anything in her expression.
She couldn't afford even one mistake.
Not today.
The chairman cleared his throat.
"Given the seriousness of these allegations..."
"...I move that today's transfer of ownership be postponed pending a full investigation."
One director raised his hand.
"I second the motion."
Another followed.
"So do I."
Then another.
Selena felt the floor vanish beneath her feet.
"No!"
She slammed both hands against the conference table.
"You can't do this!"
"I've dedicated years to this company!"
Aurora's voice remained calm.
"No."
"You dedicated years to controlling it."
The words landed like a slap.
Every eye in the room shifted toward Selena.
For the first time...
She wasn't the woman in control.
She was the woman under investigation.
As the meeting dissolved into chaos, Aurora quietly gathered her documents.
She had achieved exactly what she came for.
Delay.
Doubt.
Time.
Time to uncover the rest of the truth.
She turned toward the exit.
Just as she reached the doorway...
A familiar voice stopped her.
"Miss Blake."
She froze.
Damien.
He walked toward her, his expression unreadable.
"I'd like to thank you."
She forced herself to remain calm.
"For what?"
"For giving my late wife the justice I should have fought for sooner."
The words pierced her heart.
She looked into his eyes.
For one dangerous moment...
She almost forgot she was Aurora Blake.
Almost forgot she was supposed to hate him.
Then she remembered the divorce papers.
The accusations.
The funeral.
She lowered her gaze.
"I'm only interested in the truth, Mr. Ashford."
She walked away before he could say another word.
Damien watched her disappear down the corridor.
A strange certainty settled deep inside him.
He couldn't explain it.
But he knew this wasn't the last time their paths would cross.
Behind a nearby pillar, Selena watched everything.
Her eyes burned with hatred.
She had just lost the company.
And somehow...
It all started the moment Aurora Blake walked through those doors.
She pulled out her phone and dialed a number she hadn't called in weeks.
The call connected on the second ring.
"I don't care how much it costs."
"I want Aurora Blake dead."
- Writer
