The room fell into an uncomfortable silence.

Derek looked down at the table, his eyes scanning the pages of the agreement Victoria had forced me to sign. “Wait… Victoria, what did you just buy?”

Victoria’s breath hitched. Her hands began to shake slightly. “I… I bought Emily’s consulting firm. It’s just a small boutique advisory service.”

“No,” Director Roberts corrected firmly. “As of 2:45 p.m. today, upon the final execution of this signed transfer agreement, you assumed total ownership, legal liability, and managerial control of Chin Advisory Services. However, what you were not aware of, Miss Chin, is that Chin Advisory Services was serving as the primary designated witness firm cooperating directly with our federal task force.”

Victoria’s head snapped toward me. The color completely drained from her face.

“You knew,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “You knew they were investigating me.”

I met her gaze evenly, keeping my tone quiet and steady. “I knew the moment you suddenly took an interest in my company six months ago. You never cared about my business, Victoria. You never asked about my clients, my revenue, or my workload. You only asked about my regulatory filings, my compliance records, and whether my corporate structure was completely clean.”

“Emily, she’s your sister!” Mom cried out, her eyes filled with tears as she rushed to Victoria’s side. “How could you let her sign something like that if you knew there was trouble?”

“Because she didn’t just ask to help, Mom,” I said, looking directly at my mother. “She threatened to push me out of the family network if I didn’t hand it over. She brought her attorneys to force a takeover because she thought my firm was a quiet place to hide her mess. She spent three years telling all of you that I was failing, while she was actively using her own firm’s capital to cover up millions in unverified liabilities.”

Director Roberts signaled to one of the agents, who stepped forward with an official notice. “Victoria Chin, as the sole managing director and legal owner of the combined entities as of ten minutes ago, you are required to hand over all corporate records, digital keys, and financial ledgers immediately. A temporary freeze has been placed on all associated accounts.”

“You can’t do this!” Victoria yelled, her voice cracking as her composure broke entirely. “The transfer isn’t fully registered with the state yet! It was just signed!”

“The moment you placed your signature on that binding agreement and declared total operational control in front of witnesses, the legal transfer of liability was complete,” Director Roberts stated without emotion. “You insisted on taking immediate responsibility. The law recognizes that choice.”