Seeing everyone hesitate to speak, Chloe raised her voice. "I bet everything I had. The terms were clear. Now we have the result. If you break your word now and this gets out, the shame would be too much to bear." Monique grew more anxious, tugging at Scott's sleeve and signaling to him with her eyes the whole time. But Scott didn't even glance at her. He just lifted his head and looked right at Chloe. After a long silence, Scott finally spoke. "Have our PR team put out the announcement. Chloe joins the board as VP." His voice was firm, carrying through the conference room. "You—" Monique began to protest, but caught Ernesto's warning look and quickly fell silent. With Scott's decision made, the other executives and board members had no room to argue. Their pride was already wounded. Now they could only accept the outcome. "Mr. Lewis, why didn't you tell us Ms. Lewis was once married to Arthur?" someone muttered, clearly annoyed. None of them had known about Chloe's past marriage to Arthur. If they had, they wouldn't have spoken so recklessly before. Scott remained silent. Right in front of everyone, he signed the appointment papers, making Chloe the VP of Lewis Group and adding her to the board. When Chloe saw the company-wide announcement going out, she smiled slightly. "This will probably trend online. I'm at least a talking point these days." No one knew how to respond. Could someone like Chloe really run the company? Scott watched Chloe's calm expression and spoke quietly. "Chloe, you're now the VP of Lewis Group. As the chairman, I'm putting you in charge of operations."He held up one finger. "One month. During that time, I won't interfere with your decisions. The same goes for every shareholder and executive here—no meddling." Chloe gave a faint smile. "Thank you, Mr. Lewis." "One month. You'll handle everything the company faces. No one will help you." Scott's tone grew more serious. "Myers Group and Lewis Group have a strong partnership. You saw today's news; the fallout is bad. Myers Group's stock is falling. Losses are in the hundreds of millions. Our partnership renewal is due in a week." "I know," Chloe replied calmly. "If you know, then you should know that if Myers Group ends our partnership, our cash flow breaks. We'll be short a billion. Everything depends on Myers Group. If they walk away, you can guess how bad things will get for Lewis Group." "Mr. Lewis, that's not your concern," Chloe said as she stood gracefully. She checked her phone—Robert had texted that he'd met Eugene. This meeting should be over now. Chloe met his gaze straight on. "I don't plan to keep working with Myers Group. Lewis Group can find better partners." "What did you just say?" Scott's shock showed clearly on his face. The room erupted in a murmur of disbelief. The shareholders exchanged stunned, panicked looks. Lewis Group had been unstable for years, its cash flow always shaky. Without the steady partnership with Myers Group, their business would have collapsed long ago. Chloe actually said she wouldn't work with Myers Group? Was she joking? Lewis Group was already in trouble, and she wanted to drop Myers Group? That was like stepping toward bankruptcy. A month? Chloe herself had the nerve to claim she could turn this company around in just a month. But with that attitude—like she's playing some kind of casual game—how in the world could she possibly pull it off? "Ms. Lewis, have you thought this through? Calling off the Lewis-Myers alliance? That's career suicide—no escape route left at all." "Funny—I never leave myself an escape route," Chloe said, her face turning serious, eyes growing cold. "You all heard Mr. Lewis. I won't repeat myself. For the next month, Lewis Group answers to me. I call the shots. In one month, Lewis Group will turn around. I, Chloe, give you my word." The conference room door swung open. Chloe stepped out first, walking with confident grace. Carolyn had been eavesdropping at the door. She hadn't heard much before it opened—and there stood Chloe, right in front of her. In that moment, Carolyn knew she shouldn't have come to spy. Chloe looked impressive today. She wore a simple business outfit, her long hair tied up casually—every bit the professional woman. And she still shone. Meanwhile, Carolyn—wearing a designer dress worth thousands, but covered by an apron—just looked completely out of place.