Against the Algorithm

Chapter 66: She Signed in Silence, and the World Shifted

He spoke first, voice quiet but edged with absolute authority. "By order of the new controlling entity, a full record of this meeting will be entered into the legal record. And should any protest to the confirmed proxy be submitted, you may present your arguments—in court."

The second lawyer, representing Kaya on behalf of Yao, stepped beside him and began distributing copies of a notarized document bearing Yao's official seal.

Kaya folded her arms. Her expression didn't soften. "You will not speak to her again without clearing it through me first. If you so much as attempt to redirect her mail without her signature, I will bring this company to its knees in litigation, and you will lose."

One of the older men cleared his throat—quiet, now pale. "This feels... excessive."

"No," Kaya said, her voice quiet but lethal. "What was excessive was insulting her in front of three of the most powerful figures in Shenzhen. What's excessive is forgetting whose name is now on the top of every single asset ledger you've touched." She turned, nodding once to Yao. "All yours."

Yao, still standing tall despite the flush in her cheeks and the thunder of her heart, lifted her chin. "Meeting adjourned."

The boardroom emptied slowly, tension still thick in the air as suits shuffled out with pale faces and stiff shoulders, none daring to meet Yao's eyes, not after the way Kaya had leveled them with steel and law.

Only one remained, an older man at the far end of the table. He hadn't spoken during the outburst. Hadn't joined the protests. He had simply sat there, quietly observing the fire rip through the room, watching as the balance of power shifted in a way they hadn't anticipated. But he also hadn't stopped them. He hadn't raised his voice. Hadn't defended her. He just sat. And that?

Was enough.

Lan turned toward him, heels clicking softly against the polished floor, her posture relaxed but her expression lethal. She didn't raise her voice. She didn't need to. She locked eyes with him, her gaze colder than winter marble. "You were friends with Xu Roulan and her husband." she said simply, and the entire room seemed to still again. He blinked once. She took another step closer. "You knew her. You sat at her table. Ate her food. And you watched those men insult her daughter while you sat silent like a coward." The man opened his mouth, but Lan didn't give him room to respond. "Xu Roulan would have slapped you." she said, her voice sharp now, rich with the kind of righteous fury that only a mother's loyalty could conjure. "Not for speaking. But for letting that child stand there alone while people her parents trusted spat on her name and her right."

The man looked away. Shame flickered in his face, but he said nothing.

"She was my friend," Lan said softly, dangerously. "And her daughter now walks into rooms she should never have had to enter this young. Alone. And you let that happen." Still no reply. Lan's lips curved in a cold, disdainful smile. "You may still carry the weight of your name, Mr. Zhang. But you don't carry hers." With that, she turned away, heels clicking once more as she moved toward the door where Kaya and Yao stood waiting, Kaya's expression unreadable, Yao's face pale but composed, her eyes shimmering with something that wasn't quite tears.

Respect.

Gratitude.

And grief.

Sheng stayed silent, and Sicheng, still burning, still holding himself back by a thread, stepped to Yao's side the second her shoulders dipped the slightest bit.

Kaya stood near the head of the table, fingers resting lightly against the polished wood, her sharp eyes still watching the man Lan had just verbally eviscerated as if daring him to breathe wrong. Then she turned to Yao's lawyer, who was still calmly collecting signed documents and sealing them back into his briefcase and her voice, though smooth and measured, was lethal in its quiet precision. "Begin a full audit," she said coldly. "All financials for the last three fiscal years. I want every internal memo, every executive expense report, and every personal account cross-referenced."