At that mont Silence followed.
Not the awkward kind—but the kind that cos when even breathing feels disrespectful.
Imdiately all eyes shifted toward Mr. Adrian.
Then his fingers moved with precision as he unclasped the third briefcase.
And yet, it felt like ti froze.
Edward’s chest rose and fell quickly, his throat dry. He didn’t know why—he couldn’t explain it—but his palms were sweating.
At that mont Liam’s face had lost its usual confidence, his eyes darting between Raymond and the man in the suit as if trying to piece together a puzzle that no longer followed any rules he understood.
Avery’s hands were clenched tightly on her side, knuckles pale, her eyes refusing to blink as if blinking would make the briefcase disappear.
Even the military man, whose composure had been steel-cast the entire evening, subtly adjusted his collar—because the room had grown heavier.
They had seen what the last two briefcases contained—contracts worth billions.
And this third one? this third one had to be worse.
It had to be big, they were just praying—silently, desperately—that it wasn’t ant for them.
That GSK wasn’t about to deliver judgnt.
Mr. Adrian’s hand slipped into the briefcase, and slowly, like a scene in a movie unraveling in slow motion, he pulled out the final set of docunts.
However Mr. Adrian didn’t rush. He walked slowly—purposefully—toward the table set directly in front of Edward and the rest.
Each of his steps echoed, and yet the room was dead silent. The weight of what he was about to do suffocated the air itself.
When he reached the table, he calmly placed the briefcase on top and clicked it open again.
Then he lifted a stack of docunts, turned, and his eyes locked with Edward’s.
"This," Mr. Adrian said coldly, "is the termination docunt of your contract with GSK."
The words crashed into Edward like thunder. His lips parted slightly, but no sound ca out.
Adrian continued, his voice calm but sharp like a blade. "I could have done this in the office. Quietly. Formally. Without witnesses. But I wanted to do it here—because you need to understand."
He scanned the group in front of him—Edward, Darren, Liam, Avery... all of them frozen.
"You all behave like you’re untouchable. As if the world must bend around you. But here’s the truth—you are not special. And you’re about to learn that."
His voice grew harder. "Your punishnt for arrogance, for mocking others, for humiliating and attempting to destroy what GSK helped build... is this."
He pulled out the first docunt and held it out toward Edward.
Edward’s fingers trembled as he reached out for it.
"This is the contract your family signed with us. Five billion dollars in project partnerships—terminated."
Upon hearing what he just said Edward’s mouth hung open.
"And the recent contract we just handed out to you—three billion," Adrian added, dropping the next docunt onto the table. "Gone. Effective imdiately."
Imdiately Edward looked pale. Color drained from his face. His mind raced—this couldn’t be happening. Not in public. Not like this.
"And let this also serve as notice," Adrian added coldly, "the loan you received from Celestia Bank—another GSK affiliate—you have two weeks to repay. If you fail, your assets will be seized."
Then a single drop of sweat rolled down Edward’s forehead.
The room was still, And yet the ssage thundered in their hearts.
Mr. Adrian flipped the signed termination docunt and without so much as glancing, flung it straight toward Edward’s chest.
It hit him and slipped down onto his lap like a weight of final judgnt.
Edward didn’t move. He couldn’t.
However Adrian didn’t pause. He reached for the next folder and pulled out the termination docunts for Avery’s family.
Before he could say a word, a sound broke the room’s stunned silence—the sudden drop of knees to floor.
And imdiately everyone’s head turned sharply.
It was Avery.
She was on the ground, her elegant dress crumpled beneath her, her hands clasped in front of her like a child who had just been caught stealing.
"Valentina, please..." her voice cracked, raw with desperation. "Please... I know you’re behind this. I’m sorry... I’m really sorry. I didn’t an for things to go this far."
Her head bowed so low her forehead nearly touched the floor. Her voice shook uncontrollably as tears slipped down her cheeks.
"I... I didn’t destroy anything. I didn’t even touch a bottle, I swear... I didn’t plan to embarrass you. I... I just wanted to..." Her voice broke completely, sobs flooding in.
She would believe the sa people she once stood over with pride now watched her crumble in disgrace.
"I don’t want to lose everything... please..." she choked. "Valentina... I’m sorry."
But Valentina didn’t say a word.
She stood still, her eyes fixed ahead, lips sealed.
Her silence was louder than any reply.
She had nothing to say—not anymore. Avery had spent too many years making her feel like nothing. And now, the silence made Avery feel it in full.
Valentina finally turned to face Avery, her voice soft but unwavering.
"This isn’t my doing," she said gently, her arms folded loosely as she looked down at the woman still kneeling before her. "If I could help you, I would. But this... this is GSK’s decision, not mine."
Avery’s tear-stained eyes blinked up at her in confusion.
Valentina’s gaze didn’t harden, but her tone grew firr. "You’ve seen it yourself. I’m trying to grow sothing—the company under , my own na. I don’t want to get involved in anything political, not with GSK, not with anyone."
Avery opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say a word, Mr. Adrian’s voice sliced through the tension like a blade.
He turned fully toward her, his eyes cold.
"You wanted to bypass the real process," he said. "You thought you could dance through the back door. Use your influence. Connections. And block out those who actually have sothing aningful to offer."
His words struck with sharp clarity, each one more painful than the last.
"While people like Sha, who submitted real proposals, waited endlessly... you were busy forging alliances behind closed doors, and you deprive others of good investnt."
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