Chapter 15: The Fall of the Traitors

They thought they could bury me.

They thought I would stay quiet, licking my wounds while they took everything from me.

But now?

Now, it was their turn to suffer.

Lancaster Industries – Emergency Board Meeting

I made sure everyone was present.

Nathaniel. Daniel. Vivian. The entire Lancaster board. The investors. Even the press.

They had tried to humiliate me publicly.

I was about to return the favor.

The reporters whispered among themselves, cameras flashing as I walked into the conference room. My heels clicked against the floor, my posture composed and deadly.

Daniel was already seated, a smug grin plastered across his face. "Evelyn, if you've gathered us all here for another one of your tantrums—"

I cut him off. "Actually, I've gathered everyone here to expose a fraud."

That shut him up.

Vivian stiffened in her seat. Nathaniel, beside me, remained quiet, watching.

I turned to the screen behind me, where my assistant was waiting to display the evidence.

I exhaled, letting my voice ring through the room. "Two weeks ago, confidential files from Lancaster Industries were leaked to the press. The blame fell on me." I let my gaze drift over the faces of my enemies. "But I have proof that the real traitors were sitting in this very room."

The whispers turned to gasps.

Daniel scoffed. "This is pathetic—"

I lifted a hand, shutting him up.

With a click, the first document appeared on the screen.

An email—sent from an unknown address to James Harrington's office.

And at the bottom?

Forwarded from Daniel Lancaster's account.

Gasps rippled through the room.

My voice remained calm. "This email contains internal documents stolen from Lancaster Industries. The same ones used to frame me." I tilted my head, my eyes locking onto Daniel's paling face. "It was forwarded through a third-party server to make it seem anonymous. But the original sender?" I smiled.

"Daniel Lancaster."

Reporters snapped pictures, murmurs growing louder.

Daniel shot to his feet. "This is fake!"

I ignored him and continued.

"Furthermore, access logs from my company tablet show that someone else used my credentials to enter the system. That device was switched with a duplicate—" I turned to Claire, Nathaniel's assistant, who was visibly shaking. "—by someone working inside the company."

Her eyes darted to Vivian, who gave her a single, warning look.

That was all I needed.

I smirked. "Now, Claire, would you like to explain how you came into possession of my tablet the night before the leaks?"

She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Daniel clenched his jaw. "You can't prove anything."

"Oh, but I can."

With another click, security footage filled the screen.

The grainy black-and-white video showed Claire entering my office. The time stamp matched exactly when my tablet had been swapped.

Then, the second footage played—Claire, handing the tablet over to Daniel.

The room erupted.

Reporters shouted questions. The board members whispered furiously.

Daniel's face turned a dangerous shade of red. "This is—this is manipulated!"

I took a slow step toward him, my smile never faltering. "Face it, Daniel. You set me up, and you failed."

Vivian shot to her feet, eyes flashing. "You conniving little—"

"Sit down, Vivian."

The entire room froze.

Nathaniel's voice was calm, but the warning in it was undeniable.

Vivian hesitated, then slowly sank back into her chair.

Nathaniel stood, adjusting his cufflinks. He turned to the room, his expression unreadable—but when he spoke, his words were final.

"I see no reason for this meeting to continue." He glanced at the board. "Effective immediately, Evelyn Lancaster is cleared of all accusations."

My lips curled.

But he wasn't done.

He turned to Daniel and Vivian, his gaze turning ice cold. "And as for the real culprits?" His voice dropped. "I'll deal with you both personally."

Daniel looked terrified.

And for the first time, so did Vivian.

Nathaniel turned to me, and for the first time in weeks, his full attention was on me—not with doubt, but with trust.

"Shall we, darling?"

I smiled. "Of course, husband."

As I walked out of that room, I knew one thing for certain—

This was just the beginning.

And I wasn't finished yet.