The heavy mahogany doors of the boardroom felt like the entrance to a courtroom. I could feel Sarah trembling beside us as I kept a firm grip on her arm. She was our only hope of proving the "Contract Audio" was a fake, but she was also a liability. If she cracked under the pressure of the Board, everything—the Ice Queen's throne and my brother's future—would vanish.
"Wait," the Ice Queen whispered, stopping just inches from the door. She turned to me, her eyes searching mine. "If we walk in there, there is no turning back. If the Board chooses Catherine, security will escort you out of the building immediately. I won't be able to protect you."
"I didn't sign that contract because I needed a bodyguard," I said, leaning in so only she could hear. "I signed it because you needed a partner. Let's go finish what your father started."
She nodded, a flash of pride crossing her face. She pushed the doors open.
The room was packed. Every member of the Board was there, along with three of Catherine's lawyers, who were huddled over a laptop. The atmosphere was poisonous. As soon as we entered, a man named Elder Okeke, the most senior member of the Board, stood up.
"Madam CEO," he said, his voice cold. "We were just listening to a very disturbing recording. A recording that suggests your 'husband' is nothing more than a paid actor from the streets of Onitsha."
Catherine's lead lawyer smirked, hitting play on the laptop. A voice that sounded exactly like the Ice Queen's filled the room: "...Five million naira is all you get. Once the Board votes, you disappear. I never want to see your face again."
The room erupted in whispers. The Ice Queen gripped the edge of the table, her knuckles white.
"That recording is a lie," I shouted over the noise, stepping into the center of the room. I pulled Sarah forward. "And the person who recorded it is standing right here."
The lawyers went pale. Sarah looked at the room full of powerful billionaires and began to shake. "I... I..."
"Tell them, Sarah," the Ice Queen commanded, her voice like a whip. "Tell them what Catherine promised you in exchange for that deep-fake."
Sarah looked at Aunt Catherine's lawyers, then at me. I gave her a small nod. "She promised me they wouldn't hurt my family," Sarah sobbed. "She gave me a diamond bracelet and told me to use a voice-modulator app to create that conversation. It never happened! The CEO never said those things!"
"You're lying!" the lawyer screamed, standing up. "This girl has been coerced!"
"The only coercion here is the bribery of a personal assistant," I said, pulling the encrypted drive from my pocket and sliding it across the table to Elder Okeke. "On this drive, you'll find the bank transfer from Catherine's shell company to Sarah's private account. Dated two days ago. The same day the recording was made."
The silence that followed was absolute. Elder Okeke looked at the data on the screen, then at the lawyers.
"This is a disgrace," Okeke whispered. He looked at the Ice Queen. "It seems we owe you—and your husband—a profound apology. The motion to remove you as CEO is hereby dismissed."
I looked at the Ice Queen. She was staring at me, her eyes filled with a mixture of relief and something much deeper. We had won. The company was safe.
But as the Board members began to stand and offer their congratulations, I saw Catherine's lead lawyer whispering into his phone. He looked at me with a look of pure hatred.
"You think you've won?" the lawyer hissed as he packed his bag. "You might have the company, but Catherine still has friends in low places. Monday isn't over yet, 'Hidden Husband.' Make sure you lock your doors tonight."
The victory felt sweet, but a new chill ran down my spine. The corporate war was over, but the personal war had just begun.