The boardroom smelled like old wood and fresh fear.
[Ding!]
Event: Emergency Board Session (In Progress)
Status:
• Attention: 30/100
• Survival Probability: 39%
• Meeting Timer: 00:29:47
• Leak Timer: 00:56:22
Sub-Objectives:
A) Delay hostile motion (+6%)
B) Stabilize NED sentiment (+4%)
Elara set a slim folder on the polished table. All around her, digital tickers flashed crimson with the leak's headline. The non-executive directors—older, cautious men and women—whispered behind their hands, their eyes darting between her and her father. At the head of the table, Charles Vance stared at the grain of the wood as if it held the answers, his face pale.
She stood before anyone could call the room to order. "Before any rash motion is entertained, allow me to record three facts for the minutes." Her voice was clear, cutting through the nervous murmur. "One: Sterling Corp. has acknowledged a joint independent audit. Two: Both parties agreed to coordinated disclosure to avoid market misinterpretation. Three: Any unilateral action now invites regulatory scrutiny and a guaranteed valuation discount."
A beat of silence. She saw a few of the NEDs nod slightly, their lawyerly minds latching onto the logic of risk mitigation.
[Ding!]
Note: Board sentiment shifting (minor)
Projected Survival Gain: +4% (if motion delayed)
The heavy door opened without a knock. Liam Sterling walked in, his presence sucking the oxygen from the room. He didn't approach the table. Instead, he chose a sleek leather chair along the wall, a spectator in his own drama. He didn't need to speak; his mere presence tilted the room's axis, a silent reminder of where the real power lay. His gaze settled on Elara, intense and unblinking.
[Ding!]
Event: Male Lead Interaction (On Site)
Status:
• Attention: 30/100 → 33/100 (Δ +3)
• Survival Probability: 39% → 38% (Δ −1%)
Note: Prolonged proximity increases risk.
Elara ignored the stat change, focusing on the Chairman. "Therefore, before we entertain a motion that could trigger panic selling, I formally request the Chair record these facts and adopt a 24-hour deferral pending the audit brief. To do otherwise is corporate negligence."
Debate erupted. A hawkish director demanded immediate action to "shore up confidence," which meant freezing the joint ventures. Elara parried every argument with cold procedure, her mind split between two battlefields.
While her mouth spoke of regulatory frameworks, her mind was in the digital logs her IT contact was feeding to her phone under the table.
Access Log: ShareDrive/PR/Statements/Neutral_Statement_v3.docx — user m•••.assistant exported at 04:28:13. Anomaly: external forward to a non-corporate address.
Media Inquiry Log: leak article posted 04:34:19. Correlation: 91%.
Phrase Analysis: The term "emotional collapse" appears in the leak. Phrase used only in a limited verbal brief to senior staff at ≈04:15.
The pieces were snapping together. An assistant. Someone with access but not high enough to be in this room. The progress bar in her vision climbed.
[Thrum…]
Side Flag: Identify the Mole
Progress: 72% → 95%
Timer: 00:12:17
Penalty on Failure: Survival −6%
She was so close. But the board was reaching a boiling point. The chairman, a weary-looking man named Edgerton, looked ready to call for a vote. Desperate, Elara played her riskiest card. She turned slightly toward the wall.
"Since you've chosen to observe this proceeding, Mr. Sterling, perhaps you could provide clarity for the board. Will you confirm on record that your team agreed to hold all public statements pending the joint audit process?"
Every head swiveled to Liam. He held her gaze, a faint, unreadable smile touching his lips. The room held its breath.
"The Sterling Corporation," he said, his voice a low, deliberate rumble, "acknowledges there is a process underway."
A masterful non-answer—confirming nothing, denying nothing—leaving the room more unsettled, and his eyes glinting with dangerous amusement. Your move, they seemed to say.
[Ding!]
Event: Male Lead Interaction (On Site)
Status:
• Attention: 33/100 → 35/100 (Δ +2)
• Survival Probability: 38% → 37% (Δ −1%)
The interaction cost her, but it worked. The chairman, now even more wary of provoking Sterling, granted her procedural point. "The facts will be recorded. We will now debate the motion for a 24-hour deferral."
The NEDs began speaking, their tone shifting from panic to cautious deliberation. It was a small win, but time was bleeding away. The meeting timer showed less than two minutes. The leak timer showed just over ten.
"All in favor of the deferral motion?" Chairman Edgerton called out, preparing to count hands.
[Thrum…]
Warning: Vote Imminent & Leak Timer Converging
Meeting Timer: 00:00:45
Leak Timer: 00:10:03
This was it. The vote would decide everything. Elara's fate hung on a show of hands. She held her breath, her eyes scanning the raised hands, trying to count.
The door opened.
A security guard stood in the frame, face set. Beside him, Maya—Anya's junior—looked pale and trembling. In the guard's hand, a phone vibrated, screen lit with an incoming call from a contact saved simply as: "S".
[Ding!]
Side Flag: Identify the Mole
Progress: 95% → 98%
Timer: 00:10:00
"Chairman—" the guard began.
Hands were half-raised. The count hadn't started.
Elara felt every gaze tilt toward the doorway—Liam's most of all.
[Thrum…]
Warning: Decision Threshold Reached
Meeting Timer: 00:00:30
Leak Timer: 00:09:57