**Phoenix of Revenge**

**1.2 The Final Blow Before Destruction**

Amelia leaned against the wall of the storage room, her heart pounding in her ears. She had never felt so helpless and vulnerable. Jason and Lily’s betrayal cut through her like sharp blades, slicing her heart and leaving her breathless. But now wasn’t the time to fall apart. She had to act.

Taking a deep breath, Amelia carefully opened the door of the storage room, making sure Jason and Lily had gone far enough. Then, she cautiously made her way back to her room. Every step felt impossibly heavy, as if the weight of the world was pressing down on her shoulders. Jason and Lily’s conversation replayed in her mind, and the perfect world she once believed in had crumbled to pieces.

She quickly shut the door behind her and collapsed onto the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the stormy night outside. Lightning flashed, briefly illuminating her pale face. She had to make a decision. She had to act.

**“I can’t let them destroy my home, destroy everything my father built…”** Amelia murmured to herself, a glimmer of resolve slowly appearing in her eyes.

With trembling hands, she opened her laptop and quickly logged into the company’s internal financial system. Jason had mentioned that her financial investigation had aroused suspicion, which meant she had unknowingly touched on their carefully laid plan. She needed to find more evidence, to expose Jason and Lily for who they really were.

The system’s interface flickered on the screen as Amelia’s fingers flew across the keyboard, auditing each financial record. Soon, she noticed several discrepancies—large amounts of money being transferred in ways that didn’t match the company’s usual operations. Digging deeper, she discovered that the funds had been funneled through secret channels into accounts privately controlled by Jason, accounts intricately linked to his personal relationship with Lily.

Her heart sank, and her blood ran cold. This was the key evidence she had been missing. Jason had been manipulating the company’s assets from behind the scenes, and she had been completely unaware.

**“So that’s how it is…”** Amelia gripped the mouse tightly, her fingertips whitening as her nails dug into her palm. Anger and pain swelled within her, like a volcano about to erupt, the pressure in her chest threatening to tear her apart.

“I won’t let them win,” Amelia whispered, her eyes burning with anger and determination.

But she knew she was alone. She needed allies—people to help her expose this carefully planned conspiracy. The first people she thought of were some of the company’s senior board members, long-time friends of her father, who had always supported her and her family.

Quickly, she scrolled through her phone contacts and dialed the number of George Kent, one of her father’s most trusted advisors.

---

**George** had been a close friend of Amelia’s father and once served as the company’s CFO. Now semi-retired, he acted as an advisor. As soon as the call connected, Amelia spoke urgently: “George, it’s me, Amelia. We need to talk immediately.”

George’s voice was filled with confusion. “Amelia? What’s going on? It’s late.”

“I need your help, right now,” Amelia said, her voice anxious. “I’ve discovered something serious about the company, about Jason. I need to meet you. Now.”

There was a brief pause as George processed her words. Sensing the urgency in her tone, he replied in a low voice, “Alright. I’ll be at your house in fifteen minutes.”

Amelia hung up the phone, gripping it tightly as her heart pounded in her chest. She knew there was no turning back now. This had to be dealt with quickly, or she would lose everything.

---

Fifteen minutes later, George rang the doorbell of the villa. Amelia opened the door quickly and ushered him inside. Her face was pale, and her eyes were red from exhaustion. George took one look at her and frowned deeply. “What happened, Amelia?”

Amelia took a deep breath, her hands gripping the arms of her chair as she struggled to remain calm. “I found evidence that Jason has been embezzling funds from the company. He and Lily… they’ve betrayed me. They’re planning to take everything once my father passes.”

George’s expression immediately darkened. He hadn’t expected the situation to be this serious. He sat down, his face grave. “Are you sure? Do you have solid evidence?”

Amelia nodded and opened her laptop, showing George the financial records she had uncovered. He examined the data closely, his frown deepening as he reviewed the transactions.

“This is definitely wrong,” George muttered. “Jason’s financial maneuvers are highly suspicious. These funds are not part of the company’s usual operations. And Lily—has she been involved with Jason this whole time?”

“Yes,” Amelia replied, her voice tight. “She’s been deceiving me from the beginning, pretending to be my friend. But she’s been Jason’s accomplice all along.”

George sighed heavily, his expression weighed down by the gravity of the situation. “Your father is still in the hospital, and we can’t let him know about this—it would only worsen his condition. We need stronger evidence to stop Jason and Lily from taking control.”

Amelia clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white. “I won’t let them win. Never!”

---

The next day, Amelia sat in the company’s boardroom, her heart pounding. She had barely slept the previous night, her mind filled with thoughts of Jason and Lily’s conspiracy and her father’s worsening illness. This meeting was crucial—she had to expose Jason’s plan and stop him.

Jason and Lily sat across from her, their faces masked with their usual fake smiles. Jason calmly flipped through his documents, while Lily quietly chatted with the other board members, unaware that Amelia had uncovered their betrayal.

As the meeting began, Amelia’s palms were sweaty, but she forced herself to remain calm. She pulled out a file and stood up, her voice firm. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve uncovered some critical findings about the company’s finances that need to be addressed immediately.”

Jason’s face twitched slightly at her words, but he quickly regained his composure, looking up with an innocent expression. “Amelia, what’s going on? What did you find?”

Amelia’s gaze was ice-cold, her anger smoldering inside. “I’ve discovered that large sums of money have been transferred to accounts under your private control—accounts that were never authorized by the board. Jason, you owe us an explanation.”

The room fell silent, and all eyes turned to Jason, filled with confusion and tension. Jason narrowed his eyes, still smiling, though a cold glint flashed in his gaze.

“Amelia, you must be mistaken,” Jason said smoothly. “The company needs financial liquidity for business expansion. Every decision I’ve made has been in the company’s best interest.”

“Mistaken?” Amelia replied icily. “You’ve been transferring company assets behind everyone’s back, and you dare call this a misunderstanding? You and Lily conspired to betray me and seize control of the company. Do you think I’m still the naive girl you can manipulate?”

The room erupted in whispers as the board members’ expressions changed. Jason’s smile finally began to fade, his expression growing darker.

Lily, sitting beside him, had her stiff smile frozen in place, a flicker of panic crossing her eyes. She spoke in a low voice, “Amelia, how could you say that? We’ve always acted in the company’s best interest.”

“In the company’s best interest?” Amelia’s voice was laced with sarcasm and fury. She slammed her hand on the table, glaring at Lily. “From the beginning, you two planned this, using my trust to take control of the company. Today, I won’t let you get away with it!”

Jason’s eyes flashed with malice, and his lips twitched, but he forced himself to remain calm. “Amelia, you’re being emotional. Maybe we should discuss this rationally.”

“There’s nothing to discuss,” Amelia cut him off firmly. “You and Lily betrayed me, my father, and this entire company. Every board member here deserves to know the truth.”

She began distributing the documents she had prepared, passing them to the board members with a look of fierce determination. The evidence clearly showed that Jason had manipulated the company’s accounts, secretly siphoning funds into his private accounts, while Lily had covered up the illegal transactions. Every number, every detail, laid bare their conspiracy.

The board members reviewed the documents, their expressions growing graver with each passing minute. The atmosphere in the room became tense and suffocating, the silence so thick it was palpable.

George sat quietly, watching the situation unfold, his brow furrowed. He knew this confrontation would determine the outcome of the battle between Amelia and Jason, and the future of the company.

Jason’s calm facade finally crumbled. His eyes turned dark and malicious as he stared at the documents he thought would never see the light of day. His fingers drummed impatiently on the table, as if he was moments away from lashing out.

“These documents prove nothing!” Jason finally exploded, standing abruptly, his fists clenched in rage. “You think you can destroy me with a few pieces of paper? Amelia, you don’t understand business—you can’t even read those reports properly! Do you think a few documents are enough to topple me?”

Amelia’s gaze was sharp and unwavering. “You thought your plan was flawless, but you overlooked the most important fact—I’m no longer that clueless girl. You were wrong, Jason. I’ve uncovered all your schemes. Your time is up.”

Jason’s face turned ashen, his teeth clenched in rage as he stared at her. Beside him, Lily was already pale, her hands nervously twisting together, completely losing her usual calm composure. She had clearly not expected Amelia to so decisively expose their façade.

“What are you going to do?” Jason’s voice dropped low, filled with threat. “Do you really think you can reveal all this and not suffer the consequences? Aren’t you afraid I’ll make sure you never rise again?”

“You ruined yourself, not me,” Amelia’s voice was calm and firm, as she stared Jason down, fearless. “What I’ve revealed today is the truth, and you, Jason, will pay for everything you’ve done.”

At that moment, George stood up and spoke in a grave tone, “Jason, you owe us a proper explanation. All the evidence points to you manipulating company assets behind the scenes. Your actions have violated the company’s interests. We can no longer trust you to lead this enterprise.”

Jason’s expression darkened further, as though he had been cornered. He glanced around the room and saw that the board members no longer trusted him, their eyes filled with suspicion and hostility. He knew he had no more escape routes.

“Fine,” Jason sneered, his voice dripping with cold sarcasm. “Since you’re all siding with her, there’s no need for me to pretend anymore.”

He stormed up to Amelia, leaning down toward her menacingly, his eyes filled with venomous fury. His voice was low, seething with threat, “Amelia, do you really think you’ve won? You’re just an inexperienced little girl. Without me, you’re nothing. You’ll never hold onto this company. In the end, you’ll lose everything.”

Amelia didn’t flinch, meeting his gaze head-on, her tone resolute. “You’ve underestimated me, Jason. And you’ve underestimated my father’s legacy. I’ll make sure you pay for what you’ve done.”

Jason let out a cold laugh and straightened up, his eyes filled with malice. “We’ll see about that.”

With that, he turned and stormed out of the boardroom, Lily trailing behind him, too afraid to say a word. The look in her eyes was one of fear and helplessness. Her once confident and superior demeanor had completely crumbled.

As the door to the boardroom closed behind them, Amelia finally exhaled a long breath. Her palms were slick with cold sweat, but she knew this was only the beginning of the battle. She would need to be faster and stronger to truly defeat Jason and Lily.

George walked over to her, gently patting her shoulder. “You did well, Amelia. The board will begin investigating Jason’s actions now. We’ll make sure he never has another chance to damage the company.”

Amelia nodded. Despite the exhaustion weighing down her body, a fierce, unquenchable determination burned within her heart.

“Thank you, George,” she said gratefully. “I’m going to need more help. We need to completely remove Jason and Lily’s influence and protect my father’s legacy.”

George nodded firmly, his gaze steady. “We’ll do that. Your father would be proud of you.”

Amelia gave a small, tearful smile, but quickly wiped away the moisture from her eyes. This was no time for weakness. The real fight had just begun.

She stood up, looking out the window. The thunder had faded, and the storm was beginning to clear. She knew there was no turning back now. Jason and Lily’s betrayal had cost her dearly, but it had also made her stronger.

She clenched her fists, her mind filled with one thought: **I won’t let them destroy my world.**