CHAPTER 4: THE VIDEO HE THOUGHT WAS GONE
Nobody spoke.
Nobody even reached for the coffee sitting in front of them.
Every eye was locked on the small black flash drive resting in the center of the conference table.
Ethan stared at it as if it were a bomb.
The old fishing captain remained standing.
Calm.
Patient.
Certain.
Sophie felt her pulse quicken.
Three years.
Three years of questions.
Three years of wondering whether anyone else had seen what happened on that bridge.
The chairman finally cleared his throat.
"What exactly is on that drive?"
The captain looked at Ethan.
Then back at the board.
"A truth somebody worked very hard to bury."
Ethan suddenly stood.
"This is ridiculous."
Nobody moved.
Nobody agreed.
For the first time in years, he wasn't the most powerful person in the room.
The chairman nodded toward the screen.
"Play it."
A technician inserted the flash drive.
The video appeared.
Rain.
Darkness.
The bridge.
The timestamp showed the exact night Sophie disappeared.
The footage came from a traffic camera mounted on a nearby construction site.
The quality wasn't perfect.
But it was clear enough.
The room watched Ethan and Sophie arguing.
Then watched Sophie slip.
Gasps erupted.
Several directors leaned forward.
The footage showed Sophie hanging from the broken railing.
One hand desperately gripping the metal.
The other reaching upward.
Toward Ethan.
Then came the moment nobody could ignore.
He didn't grab her.
He didn't call for help.
He didn't even kneel down.
He simply stood there.
Watching.
For nearly six seconds.
Six endless seconds.
Then Sophie disappeared into the river.
Silence filled the room.
A woman on the board covered her mouth.
One investor whispered:
"My God."
Ethan's face had gone completely pale.
"It doesn't prove anything."
Nobody responded.
Because everyone knew exactly what they had just seen.
The chairman slowly removed his glasses.
"I think this meeting is over."
"No."
Ethan's voice cracked.
"You don't understand."
But the damage was already done.
The investors weren't looking at him anymore.
They were looking at Sophie.
The woman who had somehow survived.
The woman they suddenly trusted more than him.
Then Sophie stood.
"I didn't come here for revenge."
Ethan laughed bitterly.
"Then why are you here?"
Her answer hit harder than any accusation.
"I came for what's mine."
And she slid a stack of documents across the table.
The acquisition agreement.
Because as of that morning...
she owned fifty-one percent of the company.
Ethan wasn't the CEO anymore.
He wasn't even in control of his own board.
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But the worst news was still coming.
Because the video wasn't the only evidence the captain had brought.
