By noon, the entire executive floor knew Alexander had called an emergency board meeting.
No one had ever seen him cancel international investor calls for internal matters.
But this time, he did.
Emily was told to stay away from the executive conference wing.
Which only made her more anxious.
At 2:00 p.m., Sophia entered the front office and quietly handed Emily a cup of coffee.
"He's fighting for you," Sophia said.
Emily stared at her.
"Why?"
Sophia gave her a strange look.
"Because they crossed a line."
Inside the boardroom, voices rose behind closed glass walls.
Emily could not hear the words—
Only see silhouettes moving sharply.
At 4:17 p.m., the doors opened.
Three senior board directors stormed out looking furious.
One of them stopped beside Emily's desk.
Director Romano.
Gray-haired. Cold-eyed.
He looked directly at her and said:
"You are costing this company more than you realize."
Then he walked away.
Emily's stomach tightened.
Minutes later, Alexander emerged.
His tie loosened.
His expression unreadable.
"Come upstairs," he said.
In his office, he closed the door behind them.
"What happened?" Emily asked immediately.
Alexander poured himself whiskey but did not drink it.
"I removed Romano's system authority."
Emily blinked.
"You can do that?"
"I own fifty-one percent of this company."
She stared at him.
"Because of me?"
Alexander finally looked at her.
"No."
Then after a pause:
"Because if they attack you, they are attacking me."
Emily's breath caught.
For one dangerous second, neither of them spoke.
Then Alexander said quietly:
"This is only the first move."