The silence that followed Yichen's question stretched like a taut wire ready to snap. Mrs. Chen's face had gone beyond pale—she looked genuinely terrified, her hands trembling as she clutched her designer handbag like a shield against the mounting pressure in the room.
"Who else, Mrs. Chen?" I asked quietly, my voice cutting through the tension with surgical precision. "Because someone capable of playing the Li-Chen and Zhao families against each other for profit doesn't stop at just two clients."
The screens around us flickered to life unbidden, displaying financial analysis that made my breath catch. Jinyu's fingers moved across his holographic interface with practiced efficiency, pulling up data that painted a picture far more complex than anything we'd imagined.
"Interesting," he murmured, his CEO instincts sharpening as patterns emerged. "Mrs. Chen, your financial records show payments from seven different shell companies over the past five years. The amounts are... substantial."
Seven. The number hit the room like a physical blow.
Zhao Wei's head snapped toward his father, alarm replacing the carefully controlled diplomacy he'd maintained throughout the meeting. "Father, you told me we were the only ones receiving intelligence about the Li-Chen family operations."
"We were told we were exclusive contractors," Zhao Ming replied slowly, his voice carrying the dangerous calm that preceded volcanic eruptions in the business world. "Mrs. Chen, would you care to explain why our 'exclusive' intelligence appears to have been sold to six other interested parties?"
Mrs. Chen's composure finally cracked completely. "You don't understand—they said if I didn't cooperate, they'd expose everything. The payments, the surveillance, even the medical records. I was protecting everyone!"
"Protecting everyone by creating a intelligence marketplace with my sister as the primary commodity?" Weihan's military training was evident in how quickly he shifted from diplomatic observer to tactical assessor. "Who were the other buyers, Mrs. Chen? And don't say you don't know—your financial records are quite detailed."
The desperation in Mrs. Chen's eyes was genuine now, but so was her calculation. I could see her weighing options, trying to determine which truth would cause her the least damage.
"There were business competitors," she admitted reluctantly. "International companies that wanted information about Li-Chen expansion plans. Some government agencies interested in your technology developments. A few... private individuals with personal grudges."
"Names," I said, and there was steel in my voice that I'd learned from watching my brothers operate. "All of them."
Before Mrs. Chen could respond, every screen in the room flashed red simultaneously. Emergency alerts cascaded across the displays as Jinyu's communication system lit up with incoming priority messages.
"Sir," my aide announced from her position near the monitoring station, "we're receiving reports of coordinated attacks on Li-Chen assets worldwide. London, Tokyo, Singapore—all hitting simultaneously."
The war room's atmosphere shifted instantly. My brothers moved with the fluid coordination of a unit that had drilled for this exact scenario, their family warmth replaced by something far more dangerous.
"Financial attacks?" Jinyu asked, his fingers already flying across multiple interfaces.
"Cyber warfare," Weihan confirmed, reading tactical displays as they updated in real time. "Someone's attempting to breach our security networks while our attention is focused here."
"Media blitz," Yichen added grimly, monitoring news feeds and social platforms. "Coordinated stories about Li-Chen family corruption, illegal business practices, and—" his voice sharpened with anger, "—questions about Aria's mental stability and fitness for inheritance."
I felt ice form in my stomach as the scope of the betrayal became clear. This meeting hadn't been about negotiation or even confrontation. It had been a distraction, designed to keep our family's key decision-makers in one location while our enemies launched a comprehensive assault on everything we'd built.
"Mrs. Chen," I said, my voice deadly quiet, "how many people knew about this meeting? Who else did you inform about our family gathering today?"
Her silence was answer enough.
Zhao Wei pushed back from the conference table, his face flushed with what looked like genuine outrage. "Father, we've been played. This entire conflict—it's been orchestrated by someone using both our families as weapons against each other."
The screens around us continued updating with increasingly disturbing intelligence. Our London offices were under investigation for tax evasion based on "anonymous tips." Our Tokyo technology center was facing cyber attacks sophisticated enough to suggest military-grade resources. Our Singapore financial operations were being scrutinized by regulatory agencies acting on "credible reports" of money laundering.
"Five different time zones," Weihan observed with professional appreciation for the tactical complexity. "Coordinated to hit during business hours across multiple markets. This level of planning requires resources that dwarf what either of our families could mobilize."
"And inside intelligence," Jinyu added, his voice carrying a chill that made the room's temperature seem to drop. "Someone knew our security protocols, our response patterns, even our family meeting schedules."
All eyes turned to Mrs. Chen, who was now openly crying. But I noticed that even her tears seemed calculated, designed to evoke sympathy rather than express genuine remorse.
"The consortium," she whispered, so quietly we had to strain to hear her. "They called themselves the Global Business Consortium. They said they were investors interested in emerging markets, but they knew things—personal things—about everyone they approached."
"What kind of things?" I asked, though part of me already dreaded the answer.
"They knew about your parents' deaths. About the real circumstances, not the official reports." Mrs. Chen's voice broke, but she continued. "They knew about the protection arrangements, about why you were hidden. They said if I didn't provide intelligence about your development and capabilities, they'd eliminate the threats that made hiding necessary."
The room went completely silent except for the soft hum of our monitoring systems continuing to track the global assault on our interests.
"They threatened to expose me to the people who killed your parents," Mrs. Chen continued, her words tumbling out in a desperate rush. "But they also promised that if I kept providing intelligence, they'd ensure your safety by eliminating your real enemies. I thought—I convinced myself—that I was protecting you."
Zhao Ming's face had taken on an ashen quality as the implications became clear. "Mrs. Chen, how long have you been feeding intelligence to this consortium?"
"Fifteen years," she whispered. "Since Aria was three. They approached me six months after the adoption, claiming to be security consultants hired by the Li-Chen family to monitor her wellbeing."
Fifteen years. My entire childhood, every achievement dismissed, every emotional need ignored—all of it had been intelligence gathering for people who'd killed my parents and wanted to ensure I never became a threat to their interests.
"They played all of us," Zhao Wei said slowly, pieces clicking together in his strategic mind. "Mrs. Chen believed she was protecting Aria by keeping her isolated and psychologically damaged. We believed we were receiving legitimate intelligence about Li-Chen family vulnerabilities. And the Li-Chen family believed Mrs. Chen was simply a negligent guardian rather than an active agent."
"While the real enemies sat back and watched us destroy each other," Yichen added with bitter recognition. "Classic divide-and-conquer strategy."
But even as the scope of the deception became clear, new alerts continued flooding our systems. The attacks weren't just about financial damage or media manipulation—they were probing for something specific.
"Sir," the aide called out urgently, "the consortium's cyber attacks are focused on our genealogy records and inheritance documentation. They're trying to access information about family succession and bloodline verification."
My blood turned to ice as understanding dawned. "They're not trying to destroy the Li-Chen family. They're trying to steal it."
Jinyu's head snapped up from his displays, his strategic mind immediately grasping the implications. "If they can prove genetic fraud or inheritance manipulation, they could challenge family succession in international courts."
"And if they can't prove fraud," Weihan added grimly, "they'll manufacture it. Genetic records can be falsified, DNA samples can be contaminated, legal documents can be altered if you have sufficient resources and inside intelligence."
"They've been studying our family structure for fifteen years," I said, the full horror of the situation becoming clear. "They know exactly how to dismantle our legal protections."
The screens shifted again, this time showing real-time footage from around the globe. In London, government officials were approaching our offices with what appeared to be search warrants. In Tokyo, our technology center was being evacuated due to "chemical leak" reports that forced examination of our research facilities. In Singapore, financial regulators were demanding immediate access to accounts that contained decades of carefully protected family assets.
"Coordinated legal warfare," Zhao Ming observed with the appreciation of someone who'd spent decades in high-stakes business conflicts. "They're not just attacking your operations—they're attacking your legal right to those operations."
"But they made one critical miscalculation," I said, standing and walking to the panoramic windows overlooking the city. The view that had seemed like a personal kingdom just hours ago now looked like a battlefield where everything my family had built was under simultaneous assault.
"What miscalculation?" Yichen asked, though his tone suggested he might already know the answer.
I turned back to face the room, feeling something shift inside me—a transformation from protected heiress to strategic commander. "They based their entire plan on intelligence about a broken, isolated girl who could be manipulated through emotional abuse and family rejection. But that girl doesn't exist anymore."
The attacks on our global operations continued streaming across the monitors, but I found myself analyzing them with cold strategic clarity rather than emotional devastation. Each assault revealed something about our enemies' resources, capabilities, and priorities.
"They're moving too fast," I observed, studying the patterns. "Fifteen years of planning, and they're executing everything simultaneously instead of maintaining pressure over time. That suggests either desperation or a critical deadline."
Weihan nodded approvingly. "Good analysis. What do you think caused the timeline acceleration?"
"Me," I said simply. "My public emergence as Li-Chen heiress disrupted their long-term psychological manipulation strategy. They'd planned to eventually control me through continued abuse and isolation, but now I'm surrounded by family support and global resources."
"So they're cutting their losses and going for immediate asset seizure," Jinyu agreed. "But Sister, they may have underestimated our response capabilities."
Before I could ask what he meant, the screens around us shifted to display something that made my breath catch. Video feeds from our family offices around the world showed not just the expected chaos of legal challenges and media attacks, but also something unexpected: coordinated counter-operations already in progress.
In London, Aunt Margaret was calmly providing documentation to investigators while her legal team filed counter-suits for harassment and malicious prosecution. In Tokyo, Uncle David had teams of our own security specialists collecting evidence of the cyber attacks while cooperating fully with authorities. In Singapore, our financial advisors were demonstrating regulatory compliance so thorough it made the investigation requests look politically motivated.
"How?" I asked, staring at the displays.
"Sister," Yichen grinned, though his eyes remained sharp with tactical awareness, "did you think we've been waiting eighteen years without preparing for this exact scenario?"
"The moment Mrs. Chen mentioned a consortium with resources to threaten multiple families simultaneously, we activated Protocol Seven," Weihan explained. "Global family emergency response for coordinated attacks on succession rights."
"Protocol Seven?" Zhao Wei asked, his professional curiosity evident despite the crisis surrounding us.
"Defensive measures we've been preparing since Aria was three years old," Jinyu replied matter-of-factly. "We always knew that whoever killed our parents would eventually target her directly once she reached inheritance age."
The screens continued updating, but now I could see the Li-Chen global network responding with the kind of coordinated precision that spoke of years of planning and preparation. Legal teams in multiple countries filing simultaneous challenges to the legitimacy of the investigations. Technology specialists providing evidence that the cyber attacks originated from sources known to intelligence agencies as criminal organizations. Media relations experts releasing documented proof of our family's charitable works and business ethics.
"They're not just defending," I realized, watching the operations unfold. "They're counter-attacking."
"Every piece of intelligence Mrs. Chen provided to the consortium was carefully monitored," Weihan confirmed. "We've known for years that she was feeding information to multiple sources. We just didn't know the full scope until today."
Mrs. Chen's face went completely white. "You knew? All this time, you knew?"
"We knew you were compromised," Jinyu said with cold precision. "What we didn't know was whether you were a willing collaborator or a manipulated victim. Today's revelations have clarified that distinction."
"But more importantly," I said, pieces clicking together in my strategic mind, "we now know that the consortium has been operating based on deliberately false intelligence for years. Every plan they've made, every resource they've allocated, every strategy they've developed—all of it is based on assumptions about our family that we've been carefully controlling."
The brilliance of the long-term deception was almost breathtaking. While the consortium thought they were manipulating us through Mrs. Chen's intelligence, my family had been using her as a channel to feed our enemies precisely the information we wanted them to have.
"The scared, isolated, psychologically damaged girl they've been planning to control?" Yichen said with satisfaction. "She never existed. We've been preparing you for leadership while making it appear you were being systematically broken."
"Fifteen years of strategic deception," Zhao Wei said with professional admiration. "Letting your enemies think they were winning while you prepared for exactly this moment."
But even as I marveled at the scope of my family's protective strategy, new alerts were flooding our systems. The consortium wasn't just attacking our legal and financial infrastructure—they were escalating to direct threats.
"Sir," the aide announced urgently, "we're receiving reports of physical surveillance teams moving into position around Li-Chen properties worldwide. Not government investigators—private military contractors."
The atmosphere in the room shifted again as the true scope of the consortium's resources became clear. These weren't just wealthy business competitors or even corrupt government officials. This was an organization with access to military-grade personnel and equipment.
"Kidnapping," Weihan assessed immediately. "If they can't seize our assets through legal manipulation, they'll try to acquire leverage through personal hostages."
"Starting with me," I said, the reality of my situation crystallizing with uncomfortable clarity. "The heiress they've been studying for fifteen years."
"Not just you," Jinyu corrected grimly. "Intelligence reports suggest they're targeting multiple family members simultaneously. Aunt Margaret in London, Uncle David in New York, even extended family members who haven't been publicly associated with our operations."
The consortium wasn't just trying to destroy the Li-Chen family—they were trying to eliminate everyone who could challenge their takeover of our global empire.
"Mrs. Chen," I said, turning to face the woman who'd shaped my childhood through calculated neglect and manipulation, "the consortium gave you specific instructions for today's meeting, didn't they? This wasn't about negotiation between the Li-Chen and Zhao families."
She nodded miserably. "They said if I could keep you in the building for three hours, they'd have time to complete their operations. They promised that once they had control of the family assets, they'd ensure your safety and provide me with protection from... from the people who would blame me for cooperating."
Three hours. I glanced at the time display on the nearest screen. We'd been in this meeting for two hours and forty-five minutes.
"Fifteen minutes," Weihan said quietly, following my gaze. "Whatever they're planning, we're in the final phase."
The screens around us exploded with activity as alerts streamed in from every continent. But this time, the reports weren't about legal challenges or media attacks. They were about coordinated military-style operations targeting Li-Chen family members and properties simultaneously.
"Sister," Jinyu said, his voice carrying absolute authority despite the crisis surrounding us, "I need you to make a choice right now. We can evacuate you to our most secure location and keep you safe while we handle this threat through traditional channels. Or..."
"Or?" I asked, though I suspected I already knew the alternative.
"Or we use you as bait to draw them into the open, with the full backing of our global network and a plan that's been eighteen years in the making," Yichen finished. "But if we choose the second option, there's no going back to a normal life. You'll be the visible leader of the Li-Chen family from this moment forward."
The weight of decision settled on my shoulders like a crown. Around the conference table, the Zhao family watched with expressions ranging from concern to professional fascination. Mrs. Chen sat frozen, finally understanding the true scope of what she'd helped set in motion. My brothers waited with patient confidence, ready to support whatever choice I made.
For eighteen years, I'd been a hidden asset protected through elaborate deception. Now I had the chance to become something else entirely—a visible leader with the resources to face our enemies directly.
"The consortium expects a broken, manipulated girl who can be controlled through fear and isolation," I said slowly, my voice growing stronger as conviction solidified. "Let's show them exactly what they actually awakened when they decided to target the Li-Chen family."
Around the room, my brothers smiled with expressions that were equal parts proud and predatory.
"In that case," Jinyu said, his fingers already moving across his interface to initiate what looked like complex global coordination protocols, "welcome to the family business, Sister. Time to remind the world why people used to say that crossing the Li-Chen family was the last mistake anyone ever made."
The screens around us shifted to display real-time coordination between Li-Chen family members across six continents, each one reporting ready for immediate action. Whatever came next, we wouldn't be facing it alone.
The consortium had spent fifteen years preparing to control a victim.
They were about to discover they'd actually been preparing to face an army.