Tony stared at the beautiful woman in front of him, trying hard to recall her na. But perhaps he had been with too many beautiful won, had too many one-night stands, that he simply couldn't rember who she was.
Seeing Tony's struggle to rember her, the smile on the blonde's face vanished.
"Chris..."
Tony felt a wave of embarrassnt.
"Yes, that's right, it's ..."
Christine continued with a hint of sarcasm, "You seem very relaxed tonight."
Seeing Tony's perplexed expression, she pressed on, "At least tell how you feel about ."
Tony not only felt perplexed but also fearful and confused because he couldn't rember having any aningful interaction with her. Damn it, was his mory failing him? How could he forget interacting with such a beautiful woman?
Moreover, Pepper was waiting for him on the balcony. He couldn't let her find out that in just a few monts away, he was already chatting up another woman.
"Terrified... I feel very terrified. Drink, quick," he said, urging the bartender.
Christine saw through Tony's attempt to evade but thought of sothing else. "Is it because I pointed out your company's involvent in that dark incident?"
Recently, dark forces in the Middle East had launched nurous attacks, causing massive destruction and casualties. She was the first to accuse the dark forces of using Stark Industries' weapons.
Hearing this, Tony collected himself, realizing she was likely there to accuse him. "I'm just here by invitation; I don't know anything beyond that."
Seeing Tony still evading, she showed a look of disappointnt. "I really believed every word you said back then..."
Tony, realizing she wouldn't let it go, responded, "I've been away for two months; I might not know anything."
Christine, seeing Tony's apparent ignorance, took out so photos from her bag. "Is this what you call taking responsibility?"
Back at the press conference, she had confronted Tony about the dark forces in the Middle East, and Tony had promised to take responsibility. But to her dismay, his idea of responsibility seed to be disappearing for two months.
Tony looked at the photos. They were a bit blurry, taken from a distance, but they clearly depicted dark forces with guns aid at innocent civilians and various Stark Industries weapons, including the latest missiles.
Seeing this, Tony was deeply shocked. How could this be? Hadn't he announced the closure of the weapons developnt and production division? How could weapons still be reaching the hands of dark forces?
Soone had betrayed him, betrayed his trust.
Christine continued, "This area is called Gomira. Have you heard of it?"
Hearing a specific location, Tony began to believe it more.
"When were these taken?"
"Yesterday."
"I did not authorize any transactions."
"Your company did."
Hearing the accusation in Christine's voice, Tony felt a surge of anger.
"My company is not !"
With that, he stord off, heading outside the hall in a fit of rage.
Outside the hall, he saw his beloved uncle, Obadiah Stane. Obadiah was responding to reporters' questions with poise and a commanding presence.
Seeing this, Tony suppressed so of his anger.
"Obadiah, what is going on?"
Obadiah noticed Tony's barely restrained fury and coldly told the reporters, "Stop filming."
His authoritative tone made the reporters imdiately stop filming. Despite Obadiah often being overshadowed by Tony in Stark Industries, he was still a highly respected figure.
Quickly, Obadiah led Tony a few steps away and asked, "What's the matter?"
He already had a bad feeling that Tony was slipping out of his control.
Tony took out the photos, questioning, "Have you seen these photos? What's going on in Gomira?"
Seeing the photos, Obadiah realized his fears had co true, but he still tried to placate Tony. "Tony, you can't be too naive."
Tony, hearing this, beca even more agitated.
"I may be naive, but my father told never to use weapons for slaughter. That's a line we cannot cross. But now soone is making secret deals behind my back. I cannot tolerate this!"
He glared at Obadiah, his suspicion rising.
In Stark Industries, few had the authority to make deals behind his back, and his uncle was a pri suspect. However, out of familial loyalty, he didn't want to believe it.
Obadiah, seeing Tony's reaction, sighed deeply and seed to co to a decision. With a faint smile, he said, "Tony, let's take a picture together."
He put an arm around Tony's shoulder and turned to face the reporters.
"Alright, ti for a photo."
The reporters, eager for a shot, imdiately raised their caras.
"Over here."
"Look this way."
"Ready."
Obadiah, acting very affectionate, whispered in Tony's ear, "Tony, do you know who applied to the board to strip you of your chairman powers? It was . I did it for your own good. I couldn't watch you destroy Stark Industries."
With that, he patted Tony on the shoulder and walked away. Knowing Tony could easily uncover his actions, Obadiah chose to be upfront, hoping to appear honest.
Hearing it directly from his uncle, Tony was left stunned, feeling a mix of disappointnt, pain, and betrayal.
......
Elsewhere, after leaving Tony, Obadiah headed to his car. As he closed the door, he was startled to find a stranger inside—a stunning blonde woman.
Imdiately, he beca wary.
"Who are you?"
This wasn't so random encounter. He trusted his n wouldn't allow anyone in his car without his permission, especially after multiple assassination attempts.
Luna, seeing Obadiah's wariness and hostility, gave a friendly smile.
"Hello, I'm Luna, secretary to the chairman of Umbrella Corporation."
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