Chapter 128

"Can we really win?"

Scarlet Archer's fingers flew across her tablet screen, the glow illuminating her pale face.

The hotel suite was dim, curtains drawn tight with only a few wall lamps casting amber light.

The PR storm ignited by Bianca White's fans had long surpassed entertainment industry gossip.

Capital, marriage, violence, betrayal—these keywords spread like wildfire across the internet.

["Modern-day Benedict Arnold! His wife built his empire, now he kicks her to the curb?"]

["That slap in the video made my blood run cold. This is a so-called successful man?"]

["Ladies remember—a man's first priority after getting rich is trading in his wife."]

["A CEO of a publicly traded company with this temperament? SEC should investigate!"]

["Stay safe, reporter girl. We're all watching."]

Scarlet's fingertip paused on one comment:

["If we don't speak for others today, no one will speak for us tomorrow."]

Her eyes burned suddenly.

"Public opinion still favors us." She looked up at the figure by the window.

Evelyn Sinclair stood before the floor-to-ceiling glass, city lights twinkling behind her.

A long-cold coffee cup rested in her hands as she gazed at the financial district skyline.

"Nigel Norton is counterattacking."

Scarlet switched screens to reveal vicious comments:

["Heard this woman caused scenes at his office. She deserved it."]

["Trying to take half his fortune? I'd hit her too."]

["Modern women want money, power, and men groveling at their feet."]

The cruelest one read:

["Spare the rod, spoil the wife. Disobedient women need discipline."]

Scarlet's hands trembled with rage. "How dare they—"

"Expected." Evelyn set her coffee down with a sharp clink.

She pulled up financial charts. "Nigel's spent three million suppressing hashtags and hired two hundred thousand trolls."

Scarlet gasped. "But we—"

"Our funds have better uses." Evelyn cut in. "What's your analysis on their financials?"

"That crisis two Mays ago..." Scarlet flipped through notes. "Suppliers demanded payments, but Nigel actually embezzled..."

3:17 AM.

Scarlet woke on the sofa to find Evelyn still typing, blue light washing over her focused profile.

"You're still up?"

"Almost done." Evelyn didn't turn. "Thirty more minutes."

As dawn's first light seeped through the curtains, Evelyn finally closed her laptop.

"Scarlet, review this."

Scarlet's eyes widened with each scroll. "This...this is our company?"

Every "standard industry practice" she'd once accepted now exposed as lethal vulnerabilities in Evelyn's analysis.

"Any issues?"

"No..." Scarlet swallowed hard. "But this is..."

"Then release it." Evelyn checked her watch. "Market opens in forty minutes."

9:30 AM.

The financial world erupted.

A hundred-slide presentation went viral—"Tonggowan Manufacturing's Accounting Fraud Exposed."

Meticulous data, airtight arguments, even minor discrepancies highlighted in bold red.

10:00 AM.

Tonggowan's stock plummeted, sell orders piling up at the limit-down threshold.

Shattering glass echoed from Nigel Norton's office.

"That bitch! How dare she!"

A trembling assistant handed him a phone. "Sir, Horizon Media is—"

"Get Melissa Lee on the line!" Nigel snarled. "I want Evelyn Sinclair gone—now!"

Meanwhile, Horizon Media's executive suite.

Melissa Lee sneered into her phone. "Evelyn, you're suspended. Return immediately to hand over your work."

On the other end, Evelyn watched traffic flow through the financial district from her hotel vantage point.

"Melissa," her voice unnervingly calm, "are you certain you want to stand with Nigel Norton?"

A sharp intake of breath.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing." Evelyn hung up and turned to Scarlet with a smile. "The real show's just beginning."