"I'm so sorry, everyone. I don't want this either..."
"But if I don't accept these shares, my system will judge my mission a failure. It will punish me..."
Her body convulsed. She crumpled into Orson's arms like a broken doll.
Orson's face twisted with anguish. He stroked her back with one hand while his voice cracked like a whip across the room.
"Enough! What matters more—money or a life?"
"Willow is doing this to survive! Have you all gone so blind with greed you can't see that?"
The shareholders fell silent, stunned into submission.
One of them turned to me. "Ms. Fox, what do you..."
Orson's eyes cut to mine. The pressure in them was unmistakable.
"Renata. Say something."
"You know what Willow's going through. Consider this five percent a charitable donation."
"The company belongs to our family anyway—what difference does it make who holds the shares? Once Willow finishes her mission, she'll return them."
I studied him.
The same man who'd once sprinted across the entire city to save a few dollars on materials during our startup days.
Now, for the sake of a pathetic lie, he was ready to hand over billions without blinking.
I smiled and tossed my pen onto the table.