Chapter 368

The charred body carried away by the police? It was merely a decoy, positioned by Erica to stage her own fake demise. It belonged to a woman of similar build who had already perished some time earlier.

Prior to the blaze, Erica had deliberately clothed the corpse in her garments and decorated it with her jewelry.

Then, when the lighter sparked and flames roared upward, it looked like she had stepped directly into the blaze. Yet in truth,she'd vanished through a concealed passage-one she had painstakingly arranged beforehand.

And regarding the confession she'd proclaimed so theatrically before the detonation? NNaturally, she had scripted every syllable.

She'd intended for Vincent and Hannah to hear it. She wanted them to grasp the lengths she had gone to. To witness the frenzy she was capable of just to possess Vincent. And above all, she had to divert their attention.

Recently, Vincent had been pressing closer. His inquiries were edging perilously near the nucleus of her dominion-the illegal business she built from the shadows. Clandestine factories.Smuggling channels. Covert laboratories distributed across countless cities. That was her authentic pillar. Her true fortune.

Thus, she had to mislead their investigation. To convince Vincent that all her resources had been squandered on jealous vendettas against Hannah. That every drop of her fixation,every violent scheme, arose purely from love and rivalry.

With "Erica Stanton" now officially dead, the pursuit ought to naturally conclude-with the alleged offender consumed by naturally conclude-with the alleged offender consumed by fire. And consequently, the remainder of her illegal empire would remain intact.

Erica had noticed the way Vincent regarded Hannah and the fierce protectiveness in his eyes. But this time, she felt no jealousy. On the contrary, her pleasure was warped, ecstatic.Because soon, she would take Hannah's place. The woman cradled in Vincent's embrace? That would become her. And Vincent-his loyalty, his affection, his complete self-would belong to her, and no other.

Within the secluded suite, Hannah remained at her desk,immersed in duties as always.

She was reviewing the quarterly progress report for Celestial Voyage, the flagship VR game under Luminara Group. Her brow creased with silent displeasure.

The report was vague and perfunctory-worse still, critical sections on engine testing and core mechanic iterations were left blank. All it said was, "Progressing as scheduled."Something was amiss. Seriously amiss.

This project wasn't a minor side effort-it was Luminara Group's foundation for future transformation, and her personal commitment. Even while trapped in forced seclusion, she had been monitoring the project through encrypted relays. The staff supporting it was hand-picked, loyal to her, and accustomed to sending her detailed weekly updates.

But across the last two weeks, the reports had grown markedly shorter. Crucial indicators had been omitted. Her explicit inquiries concerning engine refinement had gone without reply.

She attempted to log into the company's core management portal-only to face rejection. "Login Failed. Permission Denied.Please contact the system administrator." A jolt of dread coursed through her. Without delay, she dialed Ethan Caldwell, the technical head of Celestial Voyage.

The call rang repeatedly before he finally picked up.

"Why is the engine evaluation segment entirely blank?" Hannah demanded, her tone sharp and unyielding.

There was a pause. When Ethan finally spoke, his tone was guarded and distant. "Ms. Scott, everything is proceeding smoothly. The absent data is probably caused by a synchronization delay."

"Delayed? Delayed for two weeks?" Hannah's tone turned cold."Forward the unprocessed test archives. Immediately."

"Well, Ms. Scott, the raw archives include critical code. Under the latest directive, access demands the CEO's endorsed authorization."

"I am the CEO," Hannah stated bluntly.

A pause. Then, Ethan answered quietly, almost fearfully,"You may not have been informed yet... There's been a change in leadership. I... I am afraid I cannot elaborate further."

The line abruptly went dead.

Hannah fixed her eyes on the phone screen, her knuckles stiffening with strain. A change in the leadership? What kind of change? Had she been stripped of her position?

At that moment, her assistant, Meagan, called. Her tone rushed,stumbling over itself. "Ms. Scott, it's Harvey Langston from Granite Capital-he's aligned with those longtime board members who always opposed you! I don't know how they pulled it off, but they've been snatching shares relentlessly on the secondary exchange.They even overpaid to acquire stakes from minor shareholders!"

Pausing to let her words sink in. she added. "They skipped Pausing to let her words sink in, she added, "They skipped all normal protocols and staged a secret board assembly right after the market closed yesterday-only their allies were present. They voted to expel you, accusing you of 'prolonged remote oversight and neglect of executive duties, which damaged the corporation.' They dismissed you as both Chairwoman of the board and CEO, and immediately appointed Harvey Langston in your place."

Meagan's words cracked with anguish. "I was dismissed this morning."

Hannah frowned. So, she had indeed been ousted. The blow was tremendous. She pressed her palms against her temples,compelling herself to steady. "What percentage of shares do they hold altogether now?" she asked in a low voice.