The boardroom was unusually silent, the air thick with tension. Every pair of eyes was locked on the screen behind Alina, where the headline blared:
"Mo Group's True Successor Identified—The Daughter Who Was Supposed to Be Dead Returns."
Alina remained standing, posture relaxed, as if the bombshell meant nothing to her. But the chill in her gaze could cut glass.
"Do you all need me to explain it in simpler terms?" she said, slowly scanning each face. "I am the rightful heir of Mo Group. Not my ex-husband. Not his mistress. Me."
One of the shareholders, an older man who had once backed Liam, tried to speak. "Miss Mo— I mean, President Mo… this is quite a surprise. If what you're claiming is true, then—"
Alina cut him off with a small, icy smile. "What I'm claiming is already verified by legal documentation. The notarized will of my father. The transfer contracts. The bank records. You can review them… or resign."
Her confidence wasn't an act. In the past two years, she had gathered every legal tool and financial weapon necessary to reclaim what was hers.
A younger member of the board, clearly impressed, leaned forward. "What are your plans moving forward? The company is in a delicate position."
Alina gave him a nod of acknowledgement. "My first step is to clear out the rot."
As if on cue, the doors to the boardroom opened again.
Two men in black entered, each holding an envelope. One walked straight to Liam, who had turned pale as a ghost. The other handed an envelope to the current acting CEO, a man appointed by Liam just six months ago.
Both were letters of dismissal.
"You can't do this!" Liam stood, slamming the table. "This company is mine!"
Alina walked over to him calmly. "Correction. It was yours—through lies, manipulation, and fraud. Now, it's back where it belongs."
"And you," she leaned in just slightly, her voice a whisper only he could hear, "will soon understand what it feels like to lose everything you thought was yours."
Liam's fists clenched. His lips trembled. But he didn't dare speak.
Not with every shareholder now watching him like a vulture circling a dying animal.
Not with the woman he had once thrown away now sitting in the very seat of power he used to occupy.