25 CHAPTER 25
The original speaker stepped even closer. “You started acting like we all needed you. Like we were the ones begging for your attention. But today? Look around you, James. The
tides have turned.” (1)
“You think we all wanted to sit at the same table with you because of your charm? No. Let me tell you the truth now. You were only relevant because the Victor family backed
you.”
Immediately Murmurs started to rise, but he raised one hand steady, unwavering and
continued.
“It can’t be Cora… it just can’t.”
“You had power, James,” the man continued. “Because the Victors made it so. And we yes, we tolerated you, smiled with you, clinked glasses with you because we wanted to benefit. Everyone did. Every single person who treated you like royalty did it for gain. You were a ticket. Nothing more.”
Hearing what james just said, They shifted uncomfortably in their seats.
“And I mean none.”
At that moment James froze, his back still turned to them.
Another voice in the room added, “But then you got too comfortable. You started thinking you were untouchable. That no one could question you.”
“You think I called this meeting? No. You did. All of you. You were the ones who reached out to me, set this up, asked for my time. I came because I thought we were going to talk like professionals about the contract situation. But instead, I walked into a room full of people who’d already decided I was guilty before I even said a word.”
He took one step forward, then another, and finally stood at the head of the room where
they could all hear him clearly.
At that moment Silence followed, no one had an answer.
And yet, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
The man smirked.
The room was deadly quiet for a moment.
“I don’t owe anyone here an explanation. And I won’t stand here while you all try to force me into confessing something I know nothing about.”
At that moment, just as James reached the door, his hand barely touching the knob, the sharp, commanding voice of the man who had initially called him stopped him in his tracks.
“And since I’ve made it clear that I have nothing more to say, I’ll take my leave now.”
James’s fingers tightened around the doorknob, but he didn’t turn around.
Because saying it would mean accepting that Cora Santiago, the woman he thought was powerless, had brought down a room full of men with just a whisper. 2
At that moment James finally turned around. His face was calm, but his eyes carried the fire of humiliation. Still, he said nothing.
“You can keep your secrets, James. But remember this whatever game you played, it’s crumbling now. You may not care about your own downfall, but don’t drag us down with
you. If this contract doesn’t come back in a month, none of us will ever forgive you.”
“Let me say this once and for all,” he began, his voice cold but controlled, firm but not
loud. “I have nothing to say to any of you.”
The weight of their words pressed down on him, but James stayed silent.
At that moment, James clenched his jaw tightly and straightened his shoulders. Enough
was enough. He looked around the room slowly, locking eyes with each man sitting there
each face that had once smiled at him now twisted with suspicion, frustration, and silent
judgment.
He told himself once more, more like a prayer than a conviction
The man laughed, but there was no amusement in it. “And now I hear from reliable
sources-you were slapped. Slapped publicly by William Victor himself. That’s not just
R 25
anger. That’s a declaration. Something big happened, James. You crossed a line.”
“You wanted someone to blame. You didn’t care whether it was true. You just wanted to
believe I was the reason the Victor family pulled out, the reason Global Investments
blacklisted you. But ask yourselves why would I bring this kind of trouble onto myself? What would I gain?”
“That tells me everything I need to know,” the man said, voice low now. “You’re
desperate. And you’re hiding something. You did something that turned the Victor family
against you, and now you want to play innocent in front of us?”
Another man chimed in, “And not just that. The contract was postponed. Not rejected
postponed. That’s worse. That means they’re thinking about it. Deciding whether to crush
you quietly or give you a way out.”
The man rose slowly from his chair, his tone growing louder with every step toward
James.
A woman he had once thought too weak to matter had possibly become the nightmare
that now haunted their entire reality.
Waiting for him to admit what they had already begun to suspect.
He looked at the man who first accused him. His tone darkened.
He took a breath, then narrowed his gaze.
The original voice pressed on. “And look at you running here like a man looking for a
lifeline. You? The James we used to know would’ve never done that. He would’ve
canceled the meeting. He would’ve sent someone in his place. But here you are, coming
yourself, quietly, even humbly.”
“What if one of you is the reason we’re all here? What if the person who caused this
entire thing is sitting right in this room, trying to cover his own shame by pointing fingers
at someone else?”
But he still couldn’t believe it. No matter how loud the signs screamed at him.
James slowly walked over to his chair, picked up his phone, then turned back toward the
table.
He paused.
“You all sit here, accusing me like you’ve solved some great mystery. But has any of you even stopped for a moment to think what if this mess isn’t because of me?”
“Don’t move an inch,” the man said coldly. “Because you, James, had the privilege before.”
James scoffed, shaking his head.
He headed for the door, his steps slow, deliberate.
At that moment James looked down at the floor, swallowed the lump in his throat, and tried to steady his trembling breath.
