The bidding conference for the Skycrown Spire project was scheduled three days later.

It was set to become Asterford's defining landmark for the next decade, and every top-tier design firm was fighting to win it.

Inside the Griffin Group conference room, the air felt thick enough to suffocate.

Adrian was on the verge of losing control.

The chief designer Griffin Group had hired had been poached by a rival just one day before the bid.

They were heading into battle unarmed.

"Mr. Griffin, what do we do? We present in an hour. Our proposal won't survive five minutes," the vice president said, pacing anxiously.

Adrian yanked at his tie and kicked a chair over.

"What good are any of you? Where am I supposed to find someone now?"

Jasmine sat beside him, handing him a glass of water with a gentle smile.

"Adrian, don't be angry. Maybe a miracle will happen."

"A miracle?" He let out a harsh laugh. "Unless L descends from the heavens."

At that moment, the conference room doors swung open.

I walked in wearing a tailored white suit and high heels.

My hair was swept into a sleek updo, gold-rimmed glasses resting on my nose.

I carried myself with deliberate authority.

Everyone froze.

Adrian's brows knitted together when he saw me, the disdain in his eyes unmistakable.

"Audrey? What are you doing here? Did you bring lunch? Or are you here to beg for forgiveness? Get out. This is a senior executive meeting, not a place for you to throw a tantrum."

Jasmine stood up as well, her voice soft and sugary.

"Mrs. Griffin, Adrian is still upset about what happened at the gala. Please don't make things worse right now."

The Griffin executives snickered under their breath.

"Mr. Griffin, seems you've lost control at home."

"Letting your wife storm into a meeting like this? Highly inappropriate."

I ignored them all and walked straight toward the head seat at the bidding table.

It had been reserved for the project's mysterious lead adjudicator and chief overseer.

Adrian's face drained of color when he saw where I was headed.

"Audrey! Have you lost your mind? That seat isn't for you! Get down! Security! Where's security?"

He lunged toward me, his hand only inches away from touching me, when the conference room doors suddenly opened again.

The event organizers entered, accompanied by several internationally renowned architects.

The moment they saw me standing before the main seat, their faces lit up with unmistakable excitement.

The elderly masters hurried toward me and bowed respectfully.

"Master! You've finally returned!"

"We've been waiting for you, L."

Silence swallowed the room.

Adrian's hand froze midair, his eyes bulging in disbelief.

The pen slipped from his fingers and clattered onto the table.

The vice president's jaw nearly hit the floor.

Jasmine's smile stiffened into something grotesque.

I sat down slowly, crossed my legs, and let my gaze sweep across the room with quiet superiority.

"Allow me to reintroduce myself. I'm Audrey Lawson. And I am the chief director of the Skycrown Spire project—L."

I looked at Adrian's ashen face and smiled coldly. "Mr. Griffin, can I afford that vase now?"

The conference room was so silent that a pin dropping to the floor would have echoed like a gunshot.

Adrian trembled all over, his face shifting from deathly ashen to a dark, mottled red.

"You're L? That's impossible. You're just…" Adrian stammered.

"Just a stupid woman who cooks for you and cleans up after you?" I cut him off, my gaze utterly devoid of warmth. "Adrian, were you blind, or just that stupid? Over the past five years, every award-winning design Griffin Group bragged about came from my hands. Did you honestly think your useless design team was capable of producing any of that?"

Adrian staggered back a step and slammed into the corner of the table.

His memories began to unravel.

The countless nights he had seen my silhouette bent over drafts in the study. The blueprints he never understood, yet somehow always won the bids.

The truth had been there all along.

I pulled a document from the folder and slapped it onto the conference table.

"You lost. Own it. Sign, Adrian."

It was a divorce agreement.

Adrian stared at the papers, then suddenly lunged forward like a madman and dropped to his knees in front of me.

He grabbed my hands, tears and mucus running down his face in humiliating streams.

"Audrey! I was wrong! I didn't know you were this capable. I love you, I swear! Jasmine meant nothing. It was all for show. Marcus pushed her on me. I never liked her! Please, don't divorce me. Griffin Group can't survive without you!"

The man who had strutted in like a king moments ago now groveled at my feet like a stray begging for scraps.

Jasmine stood off to the side, her face drained of color as she tried to slip away unnoticed.

"Stop." My voice was cold as ice.

Jasmine froze mid-step, too afraid to move.

"Ms. Jensen, as Adrian's so-called personal assistant, you're the perfect witness for this divorce."

I took out the remote and pressed play.

The large screen flickered to life. Surveillance footage from the campsite appeared.

Then photos of Adrian and Jasmine kissing inside a car.

And finally, an audio recording from one of Adrian's business dinners.

"My wife's useless. Can't do anything except cook. If she weren't so obedient, I'd have dumped her already."

Adrian's voice rang out with unmistakable clarity.

The investors looked at Adrian with open contempt.

"Mr. Griffin, I didn't expect this from you."

"If your character is questionable, our partnership has to be reconsidered."

"Ms. Lawson, you have our full support."

Adrian's face turned ashen.

He knew that if he refused to sign today, Griffin Group was finished.

They would lose the project and likely be blacklisted by the entire industry.

Under the weight of every gaze in the room, Adrian picked up the pen with trembling fingers.

Each stroke felt as if it carved into his own flesh.

In addition to walking away with nothing, he had to transfer thirty percent of Griffin Group's shares to me as compensation for emotional damages.

When he finished signing, Adrian collapsed into the chair, limp and hollow, like a dog with its spine ripped out.

I gathered the agreement and rose to my feet.

"That concludes today's meeting."

When I stepped out of the conference room, the sunlight outside was dazzling and brilliant.

I took a long, steady breath.

The air no longer carried that sickening stench of hypocrisy.

For the first time in years, it felt good.