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Chapter 7 The Confrontation
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2025-12-09 06:38:51Chapter 7 The Confrontation
Thunderous applause finally erupted.
This time, it wasn’t the polite, scattered clapping from earlier—
Three thousand people clapped at once, the sound crashing toward the stage like waves.
Elena Shore stood under the spotlight, looking at the faces below—some excited, some moved—and felt her throat tighten.
She lowered her head, took a slow breath, and forced back the sudden urge to cry.
She couldn’t cry.
She hadn’t cried in seven years.
The last time had been at her father’s funeral.
It had been pouring rain.
She never cried again.
Because tears were useless.
They couldn’t save the ocean.
The applause gradually faded.
The host stepped back onto the stage, wearing a polished professional smile as he took the microphone.
“Thank you, Ms. Shore, for that wonderful presentation. We’ll now enter the Q&A session. May I ask if any guest—”
Before he could finish, someone raised a hand.
The host froze for a second, then signaled for staff to bring a microphone over.
The man who raised his hand was a well-dressed middle-aged executive, smiling politely, though his eyes were sharp and cold.
Elena knew him.
Blake, Vice President of OceanSky Shipping—the man in charge of corporate crisis management.
“Ms. Shore, about the data you mentioned earlier,” Mr. Blake said, smiling gently, “can you confirm its reliability? I mean, could there be a margin of error? After all, the ocean is complex, and monitoring devices aren’t always one hundred percent accurate.”
His tone was courteous, but the implication was clear—
Your data is questionable.
Elena didn’t respond.
“These are the official reports from the International Ocean Monitoring Organization. These are the satellite tracking logs. And here are the third-party test results.”
She projected her screen onto the giant display.
Document after document appeared—
“If Vice President Blake still feels unsure, I can also send you the raw data and calibration logs for every monitoring device we used.”
Her voice was calm, each word a quiet blade cutting straight into Blake’s pride.
Soft laughter rippled through the audience.
Blake’s face stiffened as he slowly sat down.
The host hurried to smooth things over.
This time, many hands went up.
Scholars asked technical questions.
Reporters asked if she was deliberately targeting OceanSky Shipping.
Elena answered them one by one.
Her responses were concise and sharp, each striking directly at the core of the question.
People stared at her in awe.
This woman was no fragile researcher.
She was a seasoned warrior.
The Q&A ended, and the host announced an intermission.
Elena stepped offstage and had barely reached the side door before she was surrounded.
Some wanted photos.
Some tried to hand her blank checks.
“Ms. Shore, here’s my card. Let’s arrange a meeting.”
“Dr. Shore, we are very interested in your project—”
“Miss Shore, may I add your contact info?”
Elena’s head was beginning to ache. She was searching for a way to escape when a cold, familiar voice cut through the noise.
“Step aside.”
The crowd instinctively parted.
Ethan Cross walked toward her.
His expression was dark.
“Elena. Come with me.”
Elena met his gaze and didn’t move.
“I don’t have time.”
“I said—come with me.”
Ethan strode forward and grabbed her wrist, pulling her toward the exit.
Elena tried to break free, but his grip was too strong.
People around them froze, unsure whether to intervene.
Elena drew a steady breath.
“Ethan Cross, if you don’t let go, I’ll scream.”
Ethan stopped.
He turned his head, locking eyes with her.
“Go ahead.”
His voice was low—so low only the two of them could hear.
“You think I’m afraid?”
Elena stared at him for a long moment… then suddenly smiled.
Coldly.
“Fine. I’ll go with you.”
She followed him out of the venue, down a quiet corridor, into an empty conference room.
Ethan shut the door and turned, his eyes burning.
“What are you trying to do?”
Elena leaned back against the wall, arms crossed, her posture relaxed and unfazed.
“You saw it. I’m raising funds.”
“Raising funds?” Ethan laughed bitterly.
“Oh.” Elena nodded, calm as ever.
Ethan’s chest rose and fell with anger.
“Elena Shore, don’t push me.”
“Push you?” Elena raised an eyebrow.
Ethan’s expression shifted instantly.
“That incident—you—”
“What about me?” Elena cut him off, stepping closer.
She spoke slowly, each word stabbing into Ethan like a blade.
“Ethan, do you know what I’ve wondered every single day these past seven years? If you had trusted me—just a little—if you had asked me even once… would things have turned out differently?”
Ethan opened his mouth.
No words came out.
Elena laughed.
Tears shimmered in her eyes, but none fell.
“Now I know the answer. No.”
“Because you never believed me.”
She turned to leave.
Ethan suddenly spoke.
“The data—did you steal it?”
Elena paused.
“More or less,” she said without turning back. “You hid it well.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
Elena finally looked at him, her gaze freezing cold.
“I do. But compared to what your company did to the ocean—my ‘crime’ is nothing.”
She pushed the door open and walked out without a backward glance.
Ethan remained where he stood, watching her figure disappear at the end of the hallway.
For the first time, he felt truly exhausted.
Crushingly exhausted.
Had she really been the culprit back then?
He remembered—
That night, Cecilia Hart had shown him an email record, crying, insisting Elena had sold critical data to a rival company.
He hadn’t questioned it.
The competitor had released a strikingly similar proposal.
And he had believed it all.
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