Chapter 3 - The Chairman’s Final Warning
Ethan remained standing in the center aisle.
His face had lost all color.
“Dad, you cannot do this without consulting me.”
Victor looked down from the stage.
“I have consulted attorneys, auditors, and the board’s governance committee. Your permission was not required.”
“I’m your son.”
“That is a fact of birth, not a corporate qualification.”
Several guests shifted uncomfortably.
Ethan climbed the first step toward the stage.
Serena moved closer to Victor, but the chairman remained steady.
“Stop there,” Victor ordered.
Ethan’s voice dropped.
“You’re humiliating me in front of the entire company.”
Victor answered into the microphone, ensuring everyone heard him.
“You arrived with your mistress, excluded your wife, misrepresented my retirement, and planned to appoint an unqualified secretary to a division that does not legally exist. Do not blame me because the truth embarrasses you.”
Mandy shot to her feet.
“I am qualified.”
Victor turned toward her.
“What is your professional background in investment management?”
“I have worked directly with Vice President Qin for three years.”
“That was not my question.”
“I have reviewed investment documents.”
“As his secretary.”
“I attended executive meetings.”
“To take notes.”
Mandy’s face burned.
Ethan interrupted.
“This has gone far enough.”
Victor’s hand tightened around the microphone.
“No. It has not gone nearly far enough.”
Behind the stage, the ballroom screen flickered to life.
A series of financial documents appeared.
Serena recognized subsidiary ledgers, transfer authorizations, and vendor contracts.
A board member near the front stood.
“What are those?”
Victor replied, “Transactions identified during an internal audit of Qin Meridian Development.”
Ethan stared at the screen.
“You had no authority to release confidential records at a public event.”
“This is not a public event. Every person in this ballroom is either family, a corporate officer, a major shareholder, legal counsel, or a contracted guest bound by confidentiality.”
“You planned this.”
“I prepared for it.”
One document enlarged on the screen.
Victor pointed toward Ethan’s signature.
“Over six months, twelve million dollars was transferred to three consulting companies. All three were formed within the past year.”
Mandy’s hands began to tremble.
Victor continued, “Two are registered to individuals connected to Miss Lin’s brother, Julian Lin.”
Ethan turned toward Mandy.
“You said your brother had no involvement.”
She looked shocked.
“He doesn’t.”
Victor nodded toward the screen.
“Then perhaps you can explain why Julian Lin’s personal account received nine hundred thousand dollars three days after this invoice was approved.”
Mandy’s voice became unsteady.
“I don’t manage my brother’s finances.”
“But you introduced him to Ethan.”
“He has legitimate business contacts.”
Serena looked at her husband.
“Did you know?”
Ethan’s attention remained on the financial records.
“I approved consulting expenses based on reports submitted to me.”
Victor’s expression was contemptuous.
“You approved millions of dollars without verifying the vendors?”
“My team handled verification.”
“Which team?”
Ethan hesitated.
Victor answered for him.
“Mandy Lin.”
Every eye turned toward her.
She took a step backward.
“I only prepared documents. Ethan signed them.”
Ethan’s head snapped toward her.
“You told me they had been reviewed by legal.”
“They were supposed to be.”
“You said you personally confirmed it.”
“I relied on your department.”
“My department relied on you.”
Mandy laughed nervously.
“So now you’re blaming me?”
“I’m asking what happened.”
“You know what happened.”
“No, Mandy. I clearly don’t.”
Her expression shifted from fear to anger.
“You wanted the money moved quickly.”
Serena watched Ethan’s face.
“What did you need the money for?” she asked.
Ethan looked at her.
“This is not what it appears to be.”
“That sentence has done a lot of work for you tonight.”
Victor gestured toward the screen.
“Some of the funds were used to acquire property through an offshore holding company.”
A photograph of a waterfront villa appeared.
Mandy looked away.
Serena recognized the location.
It was the coastal property Ethan had visited during three so-called business trips.
Victor said, “The title is held by a company whose beneficiary is Mandy Lin.”
The ballroom erupted.
Mandy shouted, “That villa was a personal gift.”
Ethan stared at her.
“What?”
She froze.
Serena looked between them.
“You didn’t know?”
Ethan’s voice was dangerously quiet.
“I approved the purchase as a corporate hospitality property.”
Mandy crossed her arms.
“You said it would eventually be ours.”
“I said it might become part of an executive development project.”
“You told me we would live there after the divorce.”
Serena felt every gaze turn toward her.
She met Ethan’s eyes.
“You discussed divorcing me?”
He looked trapped.
“I was trying to calm her down.”
Mandy let out a bitter laugh.
“Calm me down? You showed me draft divorce papers.”
Ethan’s jaw clenched.
“They were never filed.”
“You told me Serena would receive the house and a small settlement.”
Serena’s voice remained steady.
“A small settlement.”
Mandy, desperate to protect herself, continued, “He said you had no ownership in the company and no independent income. He said you would accept whatever he offered because you had nowhere else to go.”
For the first time, Ethan looked ashamed.
“Serena, I never finalized any of that.”
Victor’s anger became visible.
“You planned to abandon the woman who built your life and leave her financially dependent?”
Ethan faced his father.
“She chose not to work.”
Serena answered before Victor could.
“I was chief strategy analyst at Horizon Capital when we married.”
“That was ten years ago.”
“I left because your father needed daily care and you said the family needed someone trustworthy at home.”
“I didn’t force you.”
“No. You promised my sacrifice would be our sacrifice.”
Ethan rubbed his forehead.
“We can discuss our marriage later.”
Victor shook his head.
“There may not be a marriage to discuss.”
Ethan glared at him.
“This is between Serena and me.”
“You made it a family matter when you used Qin company funds to finance your affair.”
“I did not know the villa was registered to Mandy.”
“Then you are either corrupt or incompetent,” Victor said. “Neither qualifies you to lead my company.”
Ethan took another step toward the stage.
“You can’t remove me over an audit that isn’t complete.”
“I can suspend you.”
The words struck the room like a hammer.
Victor continued, “Effective immediately, Ethan Qin is suspended from all executive duties pending a full investigation.”
Ethan stared at him.
“No.”
“The board’s emergency committee approved the suspension at six this evening.”
“You met without me?”
“You were the subject of the meeting.”
Harold Wei rose from his seat.
“The vote was unanimous.”
Ethan looked around the ballroom, searching for support.
No one spoke.
He turned to Serena.
“You voted?”
Serena shook her head.
“My trustee authority became effective tonight.”
“Then stop this now.”
“I can’t reverse a vote that already happened.”
“You can demand another one.”
“Why would I?”
His eyes hardened.
“Because you are my wife.”
Serena looked at him for several seconds.
“When you needed me hidden at home, I was an inconvenience. Now that you need my vote, I’m your wife.”
“I made mistakes.”
“You made plans.”
“There is a difference.”
“Yes,” she replied. “A mistake happens once. A plan requires repeated choices.”
Mandy suddenly moved toward the exit.
Two security officers stepped into her path.
She stopped.
Victor said, “Miss Lin, you will remain available until corporate counsel has collected your company phone and laptop.”
“You can’t detain me.”
“We are not detaining you. You are free to leave after returning company property.”
“My phone is personal.”
“The device and number are paid for by Qin Prosperity Group.”
Mandy gripped her handbag.
“I don’t have it with me.”
Serena raised her phone.
“You used it to send me a photograph twenty minutes before the banquet.”
Mandy’s face tightened.
“That was another phone.”
Victor nodded to security.
“Ask legal counsel to document both devices.”
Mandy turned on Ethan.
“Say something.”
He stared at her as though seeing her clearly for the first time.
“Did you register the villa in your name?”
She hesitated.
“I was protecting our future.”
“Did you know the consulting companies belonged to your brother’s associates?”
“I knew some of them.”
“How many?”
“This is not the place.”
“You sent my wife a picture because you wanted a public confrontation. This is the place you chose.”
Mandy’s voice rose.
“You told me tonight was the beginning of our life together.”
“I told you I would make an announcement after the transition.”
“You said you would become chairman.”
Ethan glanced at Victor.
Mandy continued, “You said once your father was out, no one could question us.”
“Stop.”
“You said Serena was weak.”
Ethan’s expression became furious.
“I said stop.”
“You said she would never fight because she had spent ten years obeying you.”
The ballroom fell silent again.
Serena looked at Ethan.
“Did you say that?”
His answer was barely audible.
“I was angry.”
“At me?”
“At everything.”
“That is not an answer.”
He looked at her.
“Yes.”
Serena nodded slowly.
“Thank you.”
He frowned.
“For what?”
“For finally telling the truth when lying stopped helping you.”
She turned toward Victor.
“Dad, may I say something?”
Victor handed her the microphone.
Serena faced the crowd.
She had never enjoyed public speaking, though she had written hundreds of speeches for Ethan.
Tonight, there was no script.
“Many of you have known me for years,” she began. “Some of you may know me only as Ethan’s wife or Chairman Qin’s daughter-in-law.”
She looked toward the employees seated near the back.
“For a long time, I believed supporting a family meant accepting invisibility. I believed loyalty meant protecting people even when they stopped protecting me.”
Ethan lowered his gaze.
Serena continued, “I will not discuss the private details of my marriage beyond what has already been exposed tonight. But I will address the company.”
Her voice became firmer.
“As voting trustee, I support the independent audit. I support full cooperation with law enforcement if criminal conduct is found. And I support protecting employees, shareholders, and clients from the consequences of executive misconduct.”
One of the senior managers asked, “Mrs. Qin, will you seek the chairmanship?”
“No.”
Whispers spread.
She continued, “I have no intention of taking a position simply because my husband failed in his.”
Victor watched her with approval.
“I will, however, accept a temporary seat on the governance committee until the investigation is complete.”
Harold Wei nodded.
“That would be appropriate.”
Ethan stared at her.
“You already discussed this with them?”
“No.”
“Then how can you accept?”
“Because I can make decisions without rehearsing them with you.”
Mandy gave a scornful laugh.
“You think they respect you? They’re using you because you control the shares.”
Serena turned toward her.
“Perhaps. That is why there will be checks, disclosures, and independent oversight.”
Mandy shook her head.
“You’re still just a housewife.”
Serena smiled faintly.
“And yet you needed my husband to tell me to stay home before you felt brave enough to enter this room.”
The response drew scattered applause.
Mandy’s face twisted.
“You stole this moment from me.”
“No,” Serena said. “You built your moment on a lie. It collapsed when the truth arrived.”
Security escorted Mandy toward a side room where legal counsel waited.
As she passed Ethan, she stopped.
“You promised to protect me.”
He did not look at her.
She whispered, “If I go down, you go with me.”
Ethan’s eyes lifted.
“What does that mean?”
Mandy smiled without warmth.
“You’ll find out.”
After she left, Victor reclaimed the microphone.
“The formal banquet will continue. The company will issue an official statement tomorrow. Tonight, we celebrate not the perfection of a family, but its opportunity to correct itself.”
Polite applause followed.
The musicians began playing, and dinner service resumed, though few guests focused on the food.
Ethan walked toward the exit.
Serena followed him into the corridor.
“Where are you going?”
He did not turn.
“Away from this circus.”
“You should speak to legal counsel before leaving.”
“I am not taking instructions from you.”
“This is not personal.”
He spun around.
“Everything about tonight is personal.”
“You used corporate money to support an affair.”
“I told you I didn’t know about the villa.”
“You signed the payment.”
“I trusted Mandy.”
Serena held his gaze.
“You trusted her with company money, a director’s appointment, and plans for our divorce. But you didn’t trust your wife enough to tell her the truth.”
Ethan looked exhausted.
“I never thought she would do this.”
“Which part? Steal from the company or expose you?”
“Both.”
“You are still speaking as though she is the only person responsible.”
“She manipulated me.”
“And did she manipulate you into taking her to hotels?”
He flinched.
“Did she manipulate you into buying the necklace?”
No answer.
“Did she manipulate you into telling me to stay home tonight?”
His shoulders dropped.
“No.”
Serena nodded.
“Then take responsibility for the choices that were yours.”
Ethan leaned against the wall.
“What happens now?”
“For the company, an investigation.”
“For us.”
She looked at the man she had loved for more than a decade.
Part of her remembered the young husband who had cooked instant noodles in their tiny kitchen and promised they would succeed together.
But the man before her had erased that life one decision at a time.
“I need the truth,” she said.
“You have it.”
“No. I have the truth Mandy revealed because she was cornered. I want everything you haven’t been forced to admit.”
“What difference will it make?”
“It will determine whether I leave with anger or with clarity.”
His face tightened.
“Are you saying you want a divorce?”
“I’m saying I will not return to our home and pretend tonight did not happen.”
Before Ethan could answer, a security officer approached.
“Mrs. Qin, Chairman Qin needs you in the private lounge.”
“Why?”
The officer glanced at Ethan.
“Miss Lin’s company phone has been unlocked.”
Ethan straightened.
“What did they find?”
The officer hesitated.
Serena said, “Tell us.”
“There are messages indicating that Miss Lin planned to transfer another eighteen million dollars before midnight.”
Ethan stared at him.
“That’s impossible.”
The officer continued, “The transfer authorization contains your digital signature.”
Ethan’s face went white.
“I never approved it.”
May you like
Serena’s voice became cold.
“Then someone intended to make it appear that you did.”
