Chapter 25 THE BOARDROOM BETRAYAL

​Alex couldn't take his eyes off the enhanced image on the screen as his heart pounded violently against his chest.

​The face staring back at him belonged to Victor Grant, the Senior Board Director of Swan Group, his late father's oldest and most loyal executive who had watched Alex grow from a boy into a man.

​A heavy silence settled over the room before Inspector David Cole finally asked, "Are you certain it's him?"

​Without taking his eyes off the image, Alex nodded and replied, "I've known him my entire life—he helped my father build Swan Group from the ground up."

​David folded his arms, his expression turning grim as he noted, "Then he's had twenty-six years to erase every trace of what happened."

​Alex slowly clenched his fists and declared, "We're going back to Swan Group."

​At that very moment, Victor Grant sat comfortably inside his luxurious office at Swan Group Headquarters, calmly pouring himself a cup of coffee as though nothing unusual was happening.

​When his assistant stepped inside to nervously report that the police were seen at Storage Facility 17 and had recovered both the cassette and the video, Victor took a slow sip of coffee, smiled faintly, and remarked, "It was only a matter of time."

​When the assistant asked if they should leave the city, Victor shook his head and explained, "No, if I run now, I'll only be admitting that I'm guilty."

​Walking toward the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking Swan Group Tower, Victor gazed at the city below and said, "It's time to welcome Alex."

​Thirty minutes later, Alex's convoy pulled up outside Swan Group Headquarters as several police vehicles surrounded the building, instantly drawing whispers from startled employees and visitors in the crowded lobby.

​Without acknowledging anyone, Alex strode toward the executive elevator with Inspector David Cole and several armed officers close behind.

​Meanwhile, inside the boardroom where every director had been summoned for an emergency meeting, the room buzzed with confusion while Victor Grant sat quietly at the far end of the table, calmly sipping his coffee.

​The conversations died instantly when the boardroom doors burst open, revealing Alex, Inspector David Cole, and several police officers.

​Victor looked up and offered a polite smile, saying, "Alex... you look troubled."

​Ignoring the greeting, Alex walked straight toward him and said in a cold, unwavering voice, "No more games."

​When Victor calmly placed his coffee cup down and feigned ignorance, Alex threw a photograph across the polished table, sliding it directly in front of him as the other board members leaned forward to see.

​For the briefest moment, the smile disappeared from Victor's face before he quickly recovered it and remarked, "It's a very old photograph."

​Placing the enhanced image from the surveillance footage beside the photograph, Alex caused the room to erupt in murmurs as the directors compared the two pictures.

​Victor Grant remained perfectly composed and claimed, "I'm afraid I still don't understand what you're trying to prove."

​Inspector David Cole stepped forward and stated, "You were present the night the Swan Project files were stolen twenty-six years ago, and surveillance footage shows someone stealing confidential documents from the facility."

​Victor met his gaze without fear, arguing that as a board member he was naturally present, and added with a faint smile, "But the footage never clearly shows my face."

​Tightening his jaw, Alex realized Victor was being extremely careful by neither admitting nor denying anything.

​One of the directors slowly rose from his chair to ask, "Alex... are you accusing Victor of being the traitor?"

​Alex turned toward the board and answered, "I'm accusing him of hiding the truth."

​Standing up calmly, Victor asked the room, "Where is Kendall Swan?"

​When silence answered him, Victor smiled faintly and said to Alex, "Your father disappears, and suddenly I'm the villain? Without Kendall here, everything you're saying is nothing more than speculation."

​Alex stepped closer and countered, "My father left a recorded message."

​Victor chuckled softly and replied, "How convenient—unfortunately, he isn't here to confirm any of it."

​Alex's patience finally snapped as he yelled, "You know where he is!"

​Victor's smile slowly disappeared as he firmly replied, "No, I don't."

​Just then, a police officer rushed through the boardroom doors, breathing heavily as he called out for the inspector.

​David immediately turned to ask what was wrong, and the officer reported, "We located the abandoned armored van on the outskirts of the city, burned beyond recognition."

​When Alex's heart sank and he asked about his father, the officer lowered his head and revealed, "He wasn't inside."

​As a heavy silence settled over the boardroom, Victor calmly picked up his coffee once again and remarked, "What unfortunate news."

​Alex stared at him, knowing that while every instinct said Victor was involved, instincts were not yet solid evidence.

​Across the city in an abandoned factory, Kendall Swan remained tied to a metal chair as the masked leader walked into the room carrying another worn folder.

​"You've been very cooperative," the masked leader said with a satisfied smile, to which Kendall slowly lifted his head and asked, "What do you want from my son?"

​The leader replied, "I want him to finish what you never could," before opening the folder to place an old, yellowed blueprint on the table.

​The color drained from Kendall's face as he recognized the document and gasped, "No... you found it... the underground vault."

​The masked leader nodded and said, "At last—the second key will open it."

​Shaking his head, Kendall smiled for the first time since his capture and revealed, "You're too late—I never gave Alex the second key, I made sure he became the second key."

​The masked leader's confident expression vanished as he demanded, "What did you say?"

​Before Kendall could answer, a guard rushed into the room breathing heavily to announce that their man inside Swan Group had been exposed.

​For a brief moment, the room fell silent as the masked leader slowly turned his gaze back to Kendall Swan.

​Instead of panicking, a slow, chilling smile spread across the leader's face as he remarked, "So... the game is finally beginning."

​Kendall stared at him with a sinking heart, realizing that whatever was about to happen next would be far more dangerous than anything they had faced before.