I hardened my expression. "My collaboration with Hughes Group is entirely legitimate and professional."
"Legitimate? Someone like you, sleeping your way to the top with backdoor deals, dares to say that?"
His voice rang through the room. "I have proof!"

Someone stepped onto the stage.
It was Linda.
She fixed her gaze on me, letting out a slow, deliberate sigh.
"Chloe, it's only natural for a small-time reporter like you to be drawn to Liam. I was going to let you keep some dignity, but you just don’t know when to quit."
Behind me, the large screen suddenly flickered.
The presentation slides disappeared, replaced by a set of explicit photos.

And the woman in those photos was me.
"You sent him these pictures," Linda continued smoothly.
"Showing up at his hotel in the middle of the night in nothing but a slip dress. And here—security footage of you and your boss walking into a hotel room together."
The screen shifted again, displaying a dimly lit hotel entrance.

In the footage, I was seen walking side by side with my supervisor, disappearing inside.
"A repeat offender," she said, voice dripping with contempt.
Gasps and murmurs rippled through the room. The air grew thick with judgment.
Then, suddenly, the main entrance swung open.
Liam strode in, sharp in a tailored suit, his presence cutting through the chaos like a blade.
His gaze swept across the room and over me without a single pause.
My heart plummeted.
The stage lights bore down on me, cold and merciless like I was being put on trial for all to see.
Whispers and murmurs filled the room.
"People like her are a disgrace to journalism."
"Absolutely disgusting."
"No ethics whatsoever—she should be blacklisted!"
I didn’t look at anyone.
I only stared at Liam and watched as he turned to Linda and asked, his voice calm and detached, "What did you just say?"
Tears welled in Linda’s eyes, trembling on the verge of falling.
"Liam, she lied to you. She pretended to be a journalist just to get close to you, to steal confidential information and use it against Hughes Group.
"And even this hosting opportunity—she only got it by sleeping her way to the top!"
Liam was silent for a long moment before turning to me.
"Do you have anything to say?"
Did I have anything to say?
I could feel Linda’s hatred, the twisted satisfaction in her gaze.
And suddenly, the whole situation felt absurd.
We were just two years apart, born to the same parents.
After Mom died, we should have been the only family each other had left in this world.
I let out a quiet, mocking laugh, my lips curling at the edges.
Gripping the microphone, I spoke clearly.
"I have something to say—
"Mr. Hughes, your fiancée is fabricating lies and deliberately spreading false accusations.
"If you choose to turn a blind eye just because you love her, and if you’re willing to let her distort the truth right in front of you, I’ll make sure this entire fiasco is documented in today’s press release.
"The public isn’t blind. If a company’s leadership can’t even distinguish right from wrong, then how can anyone trust the projects they’re developing?"
Any version of Liam—the defiant, sharp-tongued boy from years ago, or the ruthless decision-maker he had become—should have been furious at a threat like that.
But he wasn’t.
Instead, under the bright stage lights, he stepped forward.
One slow, deliberate step at a time until he stood on the same level as me, facing me across the stage.
Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, he spoke my name.
"Chloe."
A sharp ache filled my heart.
I didn’t want to hear him defend Linda.
I turned my head away, my voice steady but firm.
"Every accusation made against me today is nothing more than baseless slander.
"My relationship with Mr. Hughes has been strictly professional. There has never been any personal involvement—"
"No personal involvement?"