"Chloe, you think a couple of hired muscle can hold me here?" "You flatter yourself, Mr. Mason. Who do you think you are? Stopping you isn't worth my effort." Chloe's lips curved into a slight, cool smile. "Your darling Monique is calling for you. Aren't you going to answer?" Ernesto said nothing. Seeing him ignore her, Monique's composure finally snapped. If there was any doubt before, his silence now was a deliberate, public dismissal. "Ernesto! Aren't you going to say anything?" she demanded, unwilling to let it go. Ernesto lifted his eyes, a flicker of pure irritation passing through them as they met hers. "Haven't you caused enough trouble?" "Me? Causing trouble?" Her voice rose, brittle and sharp. "The truth is out! What's the point of the act now? Don't you forget, Ernesto, we're in this together. You can't just wash your hands of me." She took a ragged breath before yelling hoarsely, "You said you loved me! What's wrong now? Why won't you say it?" "He probably doesn't have the bandwidth to love you right now," Chloe cut in, her tone flat and shattering Monique's last thread of hope. "The word 'love' has long been stretched thin by all the people he's tangled up with—I doubt there's any room left for you." Chloe's gaze darkened as she turned it fully on Ernesto. "I have to admit, Ernesto, I didn't see it. Even Monique was just another piece on your board. Isn't that right?" A shadow crossed Ernesto's eyes, his expression turning guarded. Before he could respond, a commotion erupted at the side of the room. A Lewis Group executive rushed in, his face pale and sheened with sweat. He hurried straight to Scott, his voice urgent and low but carrying in the tense silence. "Mr. Lewis, there's been a major incident at the company... We just discovered that one billion from the recently approved and disbursed project fund has been siphoned off. The money was routed through a series of virtual accounts. Our IT security team can't trace the final destination. Legal has already alerted the FBI and the SEC." "What?" Scott's shock was palpable. "One billion dollars!" He could hardly process it. Such an enormous sum, gone just like that, right under their noses. In the midst of the panic, a cold, dreadful clarity struck him. His head snapped toward Ernesto and Monique, their earlier boasts echoing in his mind."It was the two of you!" Scott accused, his finger shaking as he pointed between them. "You're behind this! You stole from the company!" A wave of stunned murmurs swept through the shareholders. The embezzlement was shocking enough, but to hear Scott directly accuse Ernesto made the situation spiral beyond comprehension. "This was your plan all along, wasn't it?" Scott roared, the veins in his temple standing out. Ernesto looked at the furious Scott and suddenly began to laugh, a dry, humorless sound. "Me? Embezzling corporate funds? You'll need proof for an accusation like that, Mr. Lewis. What does this have to do with me? The paper trail will lead to Monique. Go ahead and look. Every transfer went through her accounts." "You..." Monique was utterly speechless, her face a mask of stunned betrayal. He had just thrown her to the wolves. They had set up those accounts together. How could he now claim it was all her doing? Before this gala, they had laid two plans. The first was to seize control of Lewis Group, rename it, and make it theirs. If that failed, the backup plan was activated—drain a massive amount of capital and disappear before anyone could catch them. The moment she heard "one billion", she knew Ernesto had triggered the escape plan. Grab the money and run. She just never imagined his first move would be to shove her squarely in front of the oncoming train. He betrayed her! Publicly and without hesitation, he had shifted the entire blame onto her. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, and even less could she believe that the man who had whispered "I love you" could be this cold, this calculating. Her hands clenched into fists so tight her nails dug deep into her palms, but she felt no physical pain, only the icy shock of his betrayal. "Mr. Lewis, if you want to frame someone, you'll need a better story. You can't just pin this on me because I was involved with Monique," Ernesto said, brushing invisible dust from his suit sleeves with an infuriating calm. He stood straighter, a smug confidence settling over him. "Me? Capable of a scheme this complex? Look at me. Do I look like a mastermind? All these shareholders are listening. If you can pin this on me today with no evidence, who's to say you won't do the same to any of them tomorrow? Is that how justice works here?" His words had their intended effect. The expressions of several shareholders in the room shifted, turning wary and uncomfortable. The personal affair was one thing; a wild, unsubstantiated financial accusation from a distraught Scott was another. "By all means, have the authorities audit Monique's finances down to the last penny. And you're welcome to audit mine as well. If they find a single dollar from Lewis Group in any account tied to me, I'll confess immediately." He raised his hands in a mock-surrender gesture before his chilling gaze landed on Chloe, his voice dropping colder, his arrogance now fully unveiled.