My male boss didn’t know I own 90% of the company stock. He sneered that we don’t need incompetent people like you, leave. I smiled politely and said fine, fire me. He thought he’d won, like my badge was my power. He had no idea my name was on the majority shares, and the next shareholder meeting would introduce him to math.

“Yes,” I said.

He shook his head slowly, half amazed, half relieved. “Then why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“I wanted to see who acted with integrity without knowing,” I said. “Now we know.”

As I walked out of Boardroom A, Marianne caught up beside me. “You said it would be fun,” she murmured.

I allowed myself a small smile. “Not fun,” I corrected. “Just… inevitable.”

Outside, the plant still ran. The contracts were still salvageable. The damage was real, but it wasn’t permanent.

And Derek Vaughn—who had thrown the word incompetent like a weapon—had just learned what incompetence looks like when it sits in the wrong chair.

THE END