The lobby of the Vane building was a cathedral of glass and steel. Hundreds of reporters stood behind velvet ropes, their microphones raised like spears. At the far end of the room, Silas Vane stood with a group of his lawyers, a smug, triumphant grin on his face. He thought he had won. He thought the "Emerald Project" was his.
Seraphina stepped up to the podium, the lights of the cameras reflecting in her eyes. "Thank you all for coming. Today, I am making a formal statement regarding the future of the Vane Empire and the health of my grandfather, the Chairman."
Silas stepped forward, interrupting her. "Let's skip the theatrics, Seraphina. We all know the Chairman is incapacitated. We all know you've been forging his name. Just sign the papers and walk away with your dignity."
The crowd murmured, the tension rising to a breaking point.
Xavier stepped forward, pulling a small remote from his pocket. "Silas, you keep talking about dignity. But I don't think you know the meaning of the word."
He pressed the button. The massive digital screens behind the podium flickered to life. It wasn't a spreadsheet or a contract. It was a high-definition video of the basement room.
In the video, the Grandfather was sitting up in bed, his eyes bright and alert. He was speaking clearly to the camera. "I, Arthur Vane, being of sound mind, hereby authorize my granddaughter, Seraphina, to act as my sole proxy. I have witnessed the greed of my brother, Silas, and I am stripping him of all titles and shares in this company. Seraphina is the future. And Xavier... Xavier is the heart this family was missing."
The room went deathly silent. Silas's face turned a sickly shade of grey. His lawyers scrambled to pack their bags, realizing the ship was sinking.
"It's a fake!" Silas screamed, his voice cracking. "It's an AI generation! You can't prove—"
"Actually, we can," Xavier said, pointing to the entrance of the lobby.
The crowd parted as a medical gurney was wheeled in. The Grandfather himself sat there, hooked up to a portable oxygen tank but very much alive and conscious. He looked at Silas with a gaze that had built an empire.
"Brother," the Grandfather said, his voice echoing through the lobby. "You always were a terrible liar."
The police moved in immediately, handcuffs clicking around Silas's wrists. The board members who had supported him bowed their heads in shame. The "Ice Queen" had not only kept her throne; she had cleared her name forever.
As the chaos erupted, Seraphina turned to Xavier. She didn't care about the cameras. She threw her arms around him, pulling him into a kiss that was broadcast to every screen in the city.
"We did it," she whispered against his lips.
"No," Xavier said, looking at the grandfather, who was giving them a thumb-up. "We're just getting started."