The boardroom gradually emptied after Huo Feng left. Only the faint echo of voices lingered in the air, the heavy mahogany table littered with scattered documents and untouched cups of coffee.
Huo Mingjie stood by the window, his reflection reflecting against the glass. Outside, the city shimmered under the afternoon light, indifferent to the turmoil inside Huo Corporation’s walls.
The meeting had ended abruptly. What was supposed to be a clean blow against Huo Feng had twisted into chaos.
Director Lin, the man who had promised to play along, had broken under pressure. He confessed, panicked, and dragged down half of their plan with him before security escorted him out.
Mingjie’s heart was still pounding. He had never seen the room turn that cold, that fast. The directors had looked shaken, whispering about internal corruption, while Huo Feng had sat there, calm as stone, giving silent orders that turned Lin’s confession into a public purge.
This wasn’t how it was meant to go.
Mingjie pressed his palm against the glass window, steadying himself, before fishing out his phone. His thumb hovered over the screen. He hesitated just for a second before he dialed the number.
The line connected after one ring.
"Song Kai," Mingjie began carefully, forcing his tone into one of control. "Things didn’t go as we expected."
A low, amused chuckle echoed after his words.
"I heard," Song Kai said. "The board meeting ended earlier than planned."
"You’re not surprised?" Mingjie frowned, turning from the window. "Lin confessed. He admitted to tampering with the project accounts."
"Yes," Song Kai replied, voice calm as if he were talking about the weather. "And that confession leads directly to him, not to me. That’s good, isn’t it?"
"Good news?" Mingjie repeated, incredulous. "Our entire setup just collapsed. Huo Feng is already having his men review the finances—he’ll know Lin wasn’t acting alone!"
"That’s where you’re wrong." Song Kai’s tone turned low, almost lazy. "Huo Feng thinks he’s cut out the rot. He won’t look further... at least, not yet. He’s proud, and pride makes men blind."
Mingjie’s grip on the phone tightened.
"You talk like you know him," he said.
"I do," Song Kai replied simply. "We used to build things together, remember? Now I just build them better." Follow current novᴇls on novel✶fire.net
A long silence followed. Mingjie could almost hear the faint hum of background noise—traffic, perhaps, or wind through an open window.
Then Song Kai continued, his voice sharpening slightly.
"Let him think he’s won, Mingjie. Let him enjoy his small victory. When the dust settles, he’ll realize he’s standing on a trapdoor I designed myself."
Mingjie swallowed hard. "What exactly are you planning?"
There was a pause, then a quiet laugh that sent a chill down his spine.
"You’ll see soon enough. Just keep the directors uneasy. Fear spreads faster than truth. By the time he finds out who’s really behind the leak, I’ll be untouchable."
But the line went dead.
Mingjie stared at the phone screen, his pulse pounding. He’d worked with ruthless men before, but there was something different about Song Kai.
His calm wasn’t the calm of confidence—it was the calm of someone who had already calculated every possible outcome and decided which ones would burn.
He looked around the empty boardroom once more and exhaled shakily. For the first time, he wondered whether he’d allied with the wrong man. But when he thought about his mother who was rotting in jail, his resolve hardened.
The outside of Huo Corporation was a sea of noise. Reporters clustered in tight circles, microphones raised like weapons, flashes bursting with every movement near the entrance.
The air was electric, tense, and greedy for news.
"Did the board confirm Director Lin’s arrest?"
"Is it true that Huo Corporation’s foreign investments are under scrutiny?"
"Are there more directors involved?"
Every voice layered on top of the other, creating a wall of chaos that blurred into one demand: Answers.
The entrance of the corporation opened. Cameras immediately swung in that direction, shutters clicking in rapid succession.
And Huo Feng stepped out.
He was calm, composed, the picture of control in his black-gray suit. Ah Si followed close behind, his usual stoic expression betraying a flicker of concern at the mass of reporters swarming forward.
"Mr. Huo! Is it true you’ve launched an internal investigation into the board?" one journalist shouted.
"Mr. Huo! Were company funds used to cover private debts?" another yelled.
Questions rained from every side. The noise was relentless, but Huo Feng didn’t flinch. He simply adjusted his cufflinks and continued walking, his expression unreadable.
"Mr. Huo! What is your response to the accusations that your management has caused investors to panic?"
He stopped at the foot of the stairs. Dozens of microphones shot forward like spears.
For a brief moment, the entire crowd seemed to hold its breath.
Then he spoke, his tone low, steady and commanding.
"Huo Corporation has always stood on integrity," he said. "And we’ll continue to operate on the principles that built it. Any rumor that says otherwise will be addressed when the time is right."
The reporters erupted. "So the accusations are false?" "Is there an internal cover-up?"
Huo Feng’s lips curved faintly, almost amused. "The truth doesn’t need to shout to be heard," he said quietly.
And with that, he turned and entered the waiting car, leaving behind a wave of flashing lights and frenzied speculation.
In the car, he door shut, muting the chaos outside. For a moment, the silence was heavy.
Ah Si looked over from the passenger seat, uneasy. "Boss, that statement will only make them hungrier. They’ll twist your words."
"I know," Huo Feng replied, his tone clipped but calm. "Let them. The ones panicking right now aren’t the innocent ones."
Ah Si frowned. "You mean the board?"
Huo Feng didn’t answer directly. He leaned back in his seat, eyes half-lidded, watching the reflection of the city slide by through the tinted glass.
"They’ll think I’m cornered," he said finally. "They’ll make mistakes trying to protect themselves. That’s when we’ll know who’s truly loyal."
Ah Si hesitated, then nodded. "So we move ahead with the plan tonight?"
"Yes," Huo Feng said. "Director Wang will be the first to test his loyalty."
He reached for his phone, scrolling through a neatly organized list of names. Next to each was a small mark: green, yellow, or red.
His gaze lingered on one in particular—Director Wang. Red.
"Assign someone to tail him," he ordered. "Quietly. I want to know who he meets and what he says. No contact until I give the word."
"Understood," Ah Si replied immediately.
The car took a sharp turn, merging into the evening traffic. From the window, the reflection of the media vans still lingered, flashing red and blue lights in the distance.
Huo Feng’s jaw tightened slightly.
"Song Kai," he murmured, almost to himself. "You really think you’re in control."
Ah Si glanced back. "Boss?"
But Huo Feng didn’t respond. He was thinking of the past, of a time when he and Song Kai had once stood side by side They had been friends once, brothers in ambition. Until greed had turned one into a shadow.
Now, that same shadow was creeping back into his empire.
He would cut it out... completely.