The press conference was a war zone in disguise—suits instead of armor, cameras instead of guns. Zara stood beside Lucien at the front of the sleek ValeCorp auditorium, every seat filled with journalists, shareholders, and enemies wrapped in polite smiles. The air buzzed with tension, whispers sharp as knives.
Zara adjusted her blazer, her face carved from ice. Lucien stood beside her, his expression unreadable, every inch the billionaire commander.
Damien Vale, Lucien's older brother, took the podium first.
"Thank you all for coming on such short notice," he began, tone smooth, almost bored. "There have been… troubling developments in recent days regarding Miss Winters and her role within ValeCorp."
Zara kept her face neutral, but her fingers curled around the notes in her palm. She could feel Lucien's body tense beside her.
Damien continued, "Our family built ValeCorp on integrity and transparency. Unfortunately, not all members of this leadership team have honored that legacy."
He turned slightly toward Zara, and though he didn't say her name, the implication was clear.
"We've discovered discrepancies in internal reports," Damien said. "Leaked files, misappropriated access to confidential data… and a highly inappropriate personal relationship between a board member and a subordinate—one that compromises objectivity and trust."
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Cameras clicked wildly. Zara's mouth went dry. She recognized the setup for what it was—a public assassination.
Lucien stepped forward.
"Enough."
Damien's eyes narrowed. "Lucien—"
"No," Lucien snapped. "You've had your turn."
He motioned to Zara, and together they approached the podium.
Zara's voice rang out, calm but lethal. "This narrative isn't just wrong. It's weaponized."
She held up a tablet. "Here are the real discrepancies—fabricated financial records traced to an IP address used frequently by Damien's assistant. Funds were siphoned through shell accounts linked to Project Phoenix—a project that never made it past the planning phase. Because my father's death ended it."
A heavy silence dropped like a curtain.
Lucien stepped in. "The same Project Phoenix that Damien tried to resurrect. Without board approval. Without federal clearance."
A reporter stood. "Are you saying Mr. Damien Vale is embezzling funds using a dead project tied to your former fiancée's family?"
Zara's eyes narrowed. "We're saying he's willing to burn down everything—including my father's legacy and this company—to keep power."
Damien laughed hollowly. "You think people will believe a disgraced heiress and her lover?"
Lucien turned slowly toward him. "They'll believe the paper trail. The timestamps. The whistleblower testimony from inside Finance. And the fact that this—" he gestured around the room "—was all planned to distract from it."
Reporters buzzed like hornets now, their attention split between outrage and greed for more scandal.
Zara took a breath, then made the final blow.
"And if you're wondering why someone like me would be here—why I'd dig into Phoenix, expose corruption, risk everything—it's not because I'm a seductress looking for revenge."
She looked directly into the camera.
"It's because my father trusted the wrong people. And I won't let his memory be buried by liars and thieves."
For a moment, there was silence. Then questions exploded from all corners.
"Miss Winters, are you confirming you had access to internal files?"
"Lucien, are you saying you knew about the embezzlement?"
"What is your relationship, really?"
Lucien raised a hand.
"We've made mistakes," he said, voice clear. "Ours is a complicated history. But what you see today is not a scandal. It's survival. And we're done playing nice."
Then he reached for Zara's hand—right there, in front of everyone.
Her fingers trembled, but she didn't pull away.
Because the lie had burned. But the truth? The truth was their weapon.
And they had just fired the first shot.