Min-Ji's confession echoed like static in Hana's ears.
"I was the leak…"
The words replayed, looping endlessly. But it wasn't rage that filled her chest. It was something colder.
Clarity.
"You said Baek has something on you," Hana said, eyes narrowed. "What is it?"
Min-Ji hesitated. "My father."
Hana blinked. "What?"
"He's not who you think he is," Min-Ji whispered. "He worked under Baek for years. Dirty money. Fake shell companies. The moment I stepped into this family's good graces, Baek saw an opportunity."
She held out the envelope. "There are documents. Transactions. My father's name all over them."
"If it gets out," Min-Ji continued, "your family will throw me out. And Baek wins."
Hana didn't flinch. "So you handed me over… to save yourself."
"I told you," Min-Ji said, voice cracking, "I never gave him everything. I fed him scraps. Enough to keep him away from you. But… I can't live like this anymore."
Hana looked at her long and hard.
Then said something Min-Ji didn't expect:
"Then we stop living in fear. You're going to keep leaking to him."
Min-Ji blinked. "What?"
"But this time," Hana said, voice sharp, "you leak what I want him to hear."
Later that night, Hana sat with Joon-Hyuk in his study. The room was silent, but tension swirled like smoke.
"You're trusting her?" he asked, brows furrowed.
"No," Hana said plainly. "I'm using her."
He stared at her a long beat. Then nodded, almost proudly. "You've changed."
"I had to."
Joon-Hyuk stood, walked around the desk, and handed her a tablet. "Then it's time we level you up."
On the screen were documents—inheritance claims, share transfers, media control contracts.
"I'm going to help you take back everything that was stolen. Not just the estate. Your name."
Hana's breath hitched. "You're serious?"
"I've never been more serious about anything in my life," he said. "Seo Hana… it's time they remember who you really are."
Meanwhile, in a dimly lit lounge across the city, Baek received a message.
A new tip. From Min-Ji.
"She's sending her inheritance documents for security approval," the message read.
Baek smirked. "Perfect. That's the moment we strike."
He closed the phone and lit a cigar.
But what he didn't know? The documents he was about to intercept… were fake.
And Hana?
She was already five moves ahead.