Now You Want Me? Too Late

Cedric’s heart sank. For a split second, he couldn’t find an answer. But he quickly regained his composure.

"If it isn’t fake, then what is it?" He pointed toward the screen. "You just admitted there are no cameras inside the executive offices. So where did this footage come from?"

His voice grew louder. "You fabricated it. You are trying to hide the real culprit."

"The real culprit is Elena," Vivian suddenly shouted. She stood up and grabbed a stack of documents.

"I have proof." She slapped the papers onto the table. "She has been secretly communicating with her ex-husband, Noah Sinclair, and planning to deceive Elias and this company."

She shoved the documents toward the woman beside her.

"Pass these around."

The woman hesitated before taking the papers and distributing them. Soon, the documents were in everyone’s hands.

"These are the encrypted emails," Vivian announced. "Elena has been communicating with Noah and planning to leak confidential project files to him."

She looked around triumphantly. "And Noah Sinclair recently signed a partnership deal with Victor Kane. Elena has been in contact with him. She is a spy for Orion Holdings."

Elena’s face paled as she read the emails. She had never sent any emails to Noah since she had left the Sinclair Group. From where did these emails come?

She checked the email ID, and her shock deepened. The ID was similar to hers.

’How could this be? I have never sent these emails. Did anyone hack my ID?’

Her mind was in chaos. Before she could understand anything, Elias’s loud voice pierced the air, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Shut up."

Vivian flinched.

"Do you really expect everyone here to believe a pile of fake emails proves Elena conspired against this company with Noah?"

Elias picked up a file and slammed it onto the table. "There is your proof."

His voice was cold and authoritative. "These email accounts do not belong to Elena or Noah. They were fake."

Owen immediately stepped forward and began distributing another set of documents.

"These are the verification reports," Elias said. "The accounts were recently created. They were not linked to either Elena or Noah. The encrypted emails were deliberately constructed to make it appear as though they were communicating."

One by one, the executives examined the evidence. Their expressions changed.

The accounts were fake. The emails were fake too. The entire scheme had been designed to frame Elena.

Elena stared down at the documents in disbelief. Now she finally understood what Vivian had been talking about earlier.

’So this is the evidence she had against me.’ Her fingers tightened around the edge of the paper. ’She created fake emails and thought she could use them to throw me out of the company.’

She glanced toward Vivian. ’How confident.’

Elena tossed the documents onto the table.

Vivian’s face paled. "No. You are lying," she shouted desperately. "You are covering for Elena. She is destroying the company, and you are protecting her just because she is your wife."

"I am not protecting anyone." Elias’s voice was icy. "I am presenting evidence."

He leaned forward. "You were the one who stole Elena’s access card and entered her office."

Vivian’s face drained further.

"You were the one who accessed the confidential files and leaked them to Victor Kane."

"No..."

"And when you realized you needed someone to take the blame, you framed Elena." Elias’s eyes turned dangerously cold. "You even hired a hacker to create those fake emails."

Vivian shook her head frantically.

"And when we finally tracked down the hacker, you had him killed."

The room fell into stunned silence.

Vivian’s knees weakened. She collapsed into her chair, her entire body trembling.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Cedric’s voice exploded through the silence. He stepped forward, his expression furious.

"Stop spreading these lies. That video is fake." Then he held up the documents Owen had distributed. "And these are fabricated too."

His gaze turned vicious. "You are targeting my daughter because she exposed your wife."

Elias let out a cold, humorless laugh. "Still refusing to accept the truth?"

He leaned back in his chair. His expression became unreadable. "Fine. I’ll clear up every remaining doubt."

Cedric narrowed his eyes.

"I knew this question would come up. So I had the footage independently verified by Mr. Campbell."

Elias looked toward Owen and handed him a file.

"His report is already here."

Owen immediately took the file, took out a stack of documents, and distributed them around the table.

"This is the forensic verification report," Elias explained. "It confirms that the recording is authentic. There is no evidence of digital manipulation, editing, or fabrication."

Everyone carefully read through the report. They all knew who Mr. Campbell was. His findings carried considerable weight.

The room became eerily quiet. There was nothing left to question.

"So the video really isn’t fake," a board member murmured. "It was Miss Sterling from the beginning."

"She leaked the project files and tried to frame Mrs. Rowan. She is the traitor."

"And she pretended to be innocent this entire time? She even had the nerve to accuse Mr. Rowan of fabricating the evidence."

Angry voices erupted throughout the room.

Vivian shook her head violently. "No..." She looked around desperately. "I wasn’t there."

Her eyes landed on Elias. "You paid Mr. Campbell to fabricate the report. It’s fake." Her voice rose into hysteria. "It has to be fake."

"No. It’s not fake." A clear female voice suddenly rang through the conference room.

Every head turned toward the entrance.

The doors stood open. Evelyn walked inside. She was limping slightly, but her posture was straight and her expression calm.

Vivian’s eyes widened. She had not expected to see her here.

Elias stared at his sister with a faint smile on his face.

Evelyn stopped beside her brother. Then she looked directly at Vivian.

"I was the one who recorded it."

Cedric’s face changed. He went completely still.

"I knew Vivian had been after Elena," Evelyn went on. "She targeted my sister-in-law before. I knew she wouldn’t stop trying to hurt Elena. So I have been following her all those days."

Vivian’s breath hitched in her throat. She had never thought her best friend would turn against her and side with Elena.

"That night, when I heard she went back to the office, I knew she was up to something," Evelyn continued. "So I came to check what she was doing so late at night. I found her sneaking into Elena’s office and accessing her computer."

Everyone listened to her in complete silence. Even Cedric seemed to have lost his voice.

"I recorded everything," Evelyn said. "When I heard someone coming, I tried to sneak away. That’s when I twisted my ankle and injured myself. But I managed to continue recording."

She pointed at the screen. "Look how she was running away before the guard could catch her."

All eyes turned to the big screen where the video was still playing. It showed Vivian rushing out of Elena’s office and hurrying down the corridor.

Evelyn held up her phone. "The recording is still in my phone. If anyone wants to verify its authenticity, come forward."

She put the phone on the table.

No one came forward. They had already seen Mr. Campbell’s report. They had no doubt.