A black sedan pulled up smoothly in front of the company building. As Sue Lawrence stepped out, her custom-tailored business suit accentuated her ramrod-straight posture. Following behind her was her lawyer, Charles Shaw, sharply dressed and carrying a briefcase. She exuded an overwhelming presence.
The moment she stepped into the conference room, a shrill female voice cut through the air. "Sue? How dare you show your face!" Maeve Walsh slammed her hands on the table and shot to her feet, her exquisitely made-up face contorted with rage. "Tiana worked herself to death to bring in the investments that saved this company! And you? What did you ever do besides put on a show of sweeping the floors, mooching off everyone like a parasite? Now that the company's being sold, you have the audacity to come crawling back for a piece of the pie. Is your skin made of steel?"
"Exactly! Jason, you're just too soft! She was pregnant with some bastard child while she was dating you, playing you for your feelings and your resources. And now you're actually letting her come here for a cut? You're way too soft-hearted!"
Jason Sterling sat at the head of the table, his brow deeply furrowed. He looked at Sue with unconcealed impatience and disgust, as if she were a piece of filthy trash.
Sue scoffed. "Tiana Lynch brought in the investments? That's a huge joke. Those investments were obviously—"
"Sue, please stop!" Tiana Lynch suddenly cut her off. The rims of her eyes went red as large teardrops rolled down her cheeks. She clutched Jason Sterling's arm, looking utterly pitiful. "I know you're upset. We were best friends, after all, and you contributed to the company, too. If it makes you feel better to say you secured these investments, then... then let's just say you did, okay? I honestly don't mind. I just don't want you to fight with everyone anymore."
Her "magnanimous" words instantly fanned the flames of the crowd's anger.
"Sue, you've gone too far!" Adam Zane shot to his feet. The 6'3" giant shielded Tiana, looking like a small mountain. His bulging muscles strained against his shirt. He was a professional boxer, the bronze medalist of the EWD league. He clenched his fists, knuckles cracking audibly. "You used to steal Tiana's credit, and now you want to steal the credit for the investments that saved her life! Are you so shameless you'd do anything for a bigger payout? Let me tell you, I went easy on you in the past for old times' sake. But you're fired now. If you dare cause any more trouble, I won't give a damn that you're a woman!"
He advanced on her, his fist nearly touching her nose. "And that bastard son of yours, always acting so pathetic. Is the plan to get him to latch onto Jason, sucker him into playing dad? Sue, women like you are absolutely disgusting!"
Those words finally pushed Sue over the edge.
When she founded the company, she had already cut all ties with the Lawrence Family. No one knew she was the heiress to the Lawrence Group. Only Jason Sterling and Tiana Lynch were aware of her background—but not only did they intentionally conceal this fact, they twisted the narrative and claimed all her accomplishments as their own.
She stared at Adam Zane's arrogant, domineering face, and a cold glint flashed in her eyes as she activated a Skill.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: WHAT'S YOURS IS MINE! ACQUIRED [BOXER'S GOLDEN LEFT HAND (33%)]!]
Adam Zane had once bragged over drinks that he'd been boxing for 15 years. His left fist could generate nearly 400 pounds of force with a punch speed of 12 m/s—it was his trump card. Now, a third of that power belonged to Sue. With 130 pounds of force and a speed of 4 m/s, her punch was more than enough to overwhelm an ordinary adult man.
Sue nonchalantly flexed her left hand, feeling the strange yet familiar power coursing through it. Her heart filled with the simple joy of having stolen it outright.
Adam Zane was still sputtering insults, spittle flying from his mouth. "I'm telling you, either you get the hell out, or I'm throwing you out!" He raised his left fist to smash it into Sue's face. This was his prized Golden Left Hand, which had once knocked out an opponent in his weight class with a single blow.
The instant his fist was about to connect with her face, Sue moved.
She swayed slightly to the side as her left hand shot out like lightning—a precise left straight, landing squarely on Adam Zane's temple!
BAM!
With a dull thud, the arrogant expression on Adam Zane's face froze. His eyes bulged wide, and a ringing filled his ears as if he'd been struck by a sledgehammer. His body went ramrod-straight and toppled backward, hitting the floor hard. He was out cold before he even made a sound.
The entire conference room fell deathly silent.
Everyone stared, dumbfounded, at Sue, as if they'd just seen a ghost.
"O-one punch?" Maeve Walsh's voice trembled. "But Adam Zane is a professional boxer!"
"The EWD bronze medalist! KO'd by Sue with a single punch? How is that possible?!"
"When did she get so strong?"
Tiana Lynch's face was deathly pale. She instinctively glanced at Jason Sterling, her eyes filled with panic. Jason Sterling's frown deepened. After a moment of silence, he spoke up. "I took boxing lessons for a while. Sue tagged along for a few months trying to get my attention. I guess she didn't forget what she learned."
As soon as he said that, a look of understanding dawned on everyone's faces, and their gazes toward Sue became even more disdainful.
"So she only learned it to chase a guy? How pathetic."
"Daring to provoke a pro after just a few months of lessons? If Adam Zane hadn't been holding back, she would've been on the floor by now!"
"Exactly! Adam Zane is a southpaw; his left is his strong hand. He must have gone easy on her on purpose!"
Listening to them twist the truth, Sue couldn't help but smile.
'Adam Zane's left hand probably isn't so formidable anymore,' she thought. 'After all, 33% of its strength and Ability are now mine.'
She rolled her left wrist, her gaze sweeping across the room. Her voice was cold and firm. "Now, may I finish speaking?"
She paused, her gaze landing on Tiana Lynch and Jason Sterling. She enunciated each word clearly. "Let me repeat myself. I didn't bring in those investments. But 80% of this company's shares are mine! Today, I am taking 80% of the profits from this sale!"
"What? Eighty percent?" Tiana Lynch's expression changed in an instant as fresh tears welled in her eyes. She deliberately crouched beside Adam Zane, shaking his arm gently as her voice choked with emotion. "Sue, we can discuss the money, but how could you resort to violence? If something happens to Adam, what will I do?"
Miles Finch stood up, his expression grim. "So you really are here to take all the assets for yourself, Sue! I finally get why Jason broke up with you. On top of having a bastard child, you're a vicious, cold-hearted woman. You're utterly nauseating!"
Maeve Walsh chimed in as well. "We were friends for so many years, how could you be so vicious! Adam still isn't awake. We won't even ask you for his medical bills or compensation for lost work. I heard your family has an abandoned mine... why don't you just give us that to make up for it?"
At the mention of the word "mine," both Jason Sterling's and Tiana Lynch's eyes lit up with undisguised greed.
Sue almost laughed.
'So that's why Jason Sterling and Tiana Lynch had specifically invited her to "split the money,"' she thought. 'Their real target was never the proceeds from the company sale. It was the Lawrence Family's abandoned mine all along!'
'That's right. An abandoned mine could serve as a shelter from extreme heat and cold, and a place to hoard massive amounts of supplies. It's the perfect apocalypse shelter. Their hypocrisy, wanting to have their cake and eat it too... their shameless greed was truly nauseating.'