The emergency shareholder meeting was held in a cavernous, amphitheater-style conference hall, packed with hundreds of investors, analysts, and journalists. The air was thick with tension and the scent of expensive cologne. On the stage, Leo sat beside the other board members, a picture of perfect, unnerving calm. In the audience, he could see Alistair Finch, watching from a private box, his expression one of serene, regal confidence. He was a king watching a public execution.
The leader of the rebellion, a hedge fund manager named Damian Black, took the podium. He was a charismatic, aggressive man who radiated a predatory energy.
"We are here today," Black began, his voice booming through the hall, "because TitanCorp has lost its way. Under the reckless and untested leadership of Mr. Zhang, this company has prioritized aggressive gambles over stable growth. I have spoken with dozens of concerned investors. We need a change."
He paused for dramatic effect. "But I am not here to talk about feelings. I am here to talk about facts. I have received credible, internal information that points to a catastrophic failure within TitanCorp's primary Asian supply chain. A failure that this board, and Mr. Zhang, have deliberately concealed from us."
A wave of murmurs and frantic typing swept through the audience. Black projected a slide onto the massive screen behind him. It was Leo's fabricated shipping manifest, a beautiful, intricate lie.
"This document," Black declared, his voice ringing with triumph, "proves a systemic collapse that will impact our Q4 earnings by as much as 20%. I ask you, fellow shareholders, is this the kind of leadership we can afford?"
He had staked his entire rebellion on this single piece of data. He had unknowingly placed his head in a noose of Leo's own design.
The Chairman of the Board turned to Leo. "Mr. Zhang. Your response?"
Leo walked to the podium. He did not look at Damian Black. He looked out at the sea of anxious, greedy faces. His Corporate Throne skill activated, a silent, oppressive wave of pure authority that settled over the room, quieting the whispers.
"Thank you, Mr. Black, for your… presentation," Leo began, his voice calm and clear. "I would also like to thank whichever of your analysts was foolish enough to act on an anonymous, unverified data file sent from a burner email."
A ripple of confusion went through the crowd. Black's confident smirk faltered.
"The document you have just presented is a complete fabrication," Leo stated, his voice devoid of emotion. He clicked his remote, and a new image appeared on the screen, side-by-side with the fake manifest. It was the real one, timestamped and verified by TitanCorp's logistics partners. "This is the real-time status of our Asian supply chain. As you can see, not only is it stable, it is currently operating at 107% efficiency, a new quarterly record."
He then delivered the killing blow.
"The fabricated document was a piece of bait, planted by my division as part of a standard counter-intelligence stress test. A test designed to see how quickly misinformation could spread. Mr. Black, you and your fund have not uncovered a corporate conspiracy. You have simply failed a security audit, spectacularly, and in public."
The hall was stunned into absolute silence. Damian Black was ashen-faced, his entire narrative publicly, brutally, and surgically dismantled. He was not a visionary rebel; he was a gullible fool who had been played.
"The only thing that has been exposed today," Leo concluded, his gaze sweeping across the room, "is that some of our investors are willing to risk this company's stability based on rumor and innuendo. That is the real threat to our growth. A threat which, as of today, has been neutralized."
He returned to his seat. The vote to remove him was a formality. It failed with over 98% of the shareholders voting in his favor. The rebellion was not just defeated; it was annihilated.
In his private box, Alistair Finch was no longer smiling. He was watching Leo with a new, dangerous intensity. He had sent a pack of wolves, and Leo had turned them into sheep.
A notification, glowing with the light of victory, appeared in Leo's vision.
[Endgame Quest 1 Complete: The Shareholder Rebellion] [You have successfully dismantled a CEO-level political attack through strategic misdirection and public humiliation of your opponents.] [Reward: +5000 EXP. New Title Acquired: The Architect] [Effect: Your fabricated data and strategic narratives are now 25% more believable to their intended targets.]