Liana’s POV
The ballroom shimmered under a canopy of light, a cathedral made of glass and ambition. The Z-Core annual shareholder meeting was supposed to be procedural, numbers, projections, optimism.
But the air tonight was charged with something else. Something almost electric. Liana felt it before she even stepped on stage.
From her seat in the front row, she could see the crowd, a sea of investors, analysts, and journalists, every one of them waiting for the next move from the woman who had somehow pulled Z-Core from the ashes.
She smoothed the notes in her hands, though she barely needed them. Years of boardrooms and negotiations had made her a practiced speaker. But this was different. Tonight wasn’t about control. It was about choice.
When the stage lights came up, applause ri
