Chapter 40: Evidence

The executive boardroom at Pierce Studios was deathly silent.

Every shareholder and executive had their eyes fixed on the breaking news broadcast playing on the television.

The screen showed footage of Jude Lawson being led into a federal SUV.

"Well," Maxwell Pierce, the elderly Chairman of the studio, said with a slow nod. "It seems the Wall Street prodigy finally flew too close to the sun. The federal authorities will tie his assets up in litigation for years. Apex Media is bleeding in the water."

Sitting near the head of the table, Donovan Pierce fought to hide a smug smile.

"I told you, Grandfather," Donovan said, adjusting his tie. "Lawson’s entire empire was built on a house of cards. With him out of the picture, we can absorb their market share."

Suddenly, the doors of the boardroom burst open with a crash.

The executives jumped in their chairs, turning toward the entrance.

Strolling into the boardroom, his charcoal suit perfectly tailored, was Jude Lawson.

Flanking Jude were two private military contractors. They were dragging a bruised man by the collar of his shirt.

With a casual shove, they threw the man forward, sending him crashing onto the boardroom carpet.

Maxwell Pierce stood up abruptly, his face flushing with anger. "Lawson! What is the meaning of this?! How the hell are you not in federal custody?!"

"The FBI realized very quickly that they didn’t have a single shred of actionable evidence to hold me," Jude replied, his tone calm. "So I decided to spend my afternoon taking out the trash instead."

Jude gestured down at the bruised man groaning on the carpet.

"Who is this person?" Maxwell demanded, staring at the battered figure.

"His name is Silas Grey," Jude explained smoothly. "He is an underground fixer. The man who orchestrated the attempted kidnapping of my artist, Lyla, earlier this week."

The entire boardroom gasped collectively.

Donovan Pierce’s face drained of all color, turning a sickening shade of white.

"You see, Chairman," Jude continued, his eyes locking onto Donovan. "I subdued Silas’s kidnappers and let them lead me directly to his warehouse. I didn’t involve the police immediately because I wanted to know exactly whose corporate payroll he was on."

Maxwell Pierce looked down at the unmoving fixer. "This person doesn’t seem to be moving, Lawson. Could he be dead?"

"He wants to die right now," Jude said. "But dying isn’t that easy."

Jude walked over and kicked Silas’s ribs with the toe of his shoe. "Stop playing dead, Silas. Get up and tell the board of directors exactly who ordered you to kidnap my artist."

Silas said, his voice weak and trembling, "It was... Donovan Pierce... who ordered me."

"State his full name and title for the record!" Jude commanded sharply.

"Donovan Pierce!" Silas gasped out. "The heir to the studio."

"What?!"

The entire Pierce Studios executive board was shocked.

Maxwell Pierce slammed his hand on the table. "What are you saying?! Don’t talk absolute nonsense! How could it possibly be Donovan?!"

The boardroom erupted into heated whispers.

"It must be a fabrication!"

Donovan put on an angry facade.

"This scoundrel is blatantly slandering me! I am innocent!" Donovan shouted, pointing a finger at Silas. "Grandfather, you must believe me! How could I do such a barbaric thing?! I don’t even know this person! You can’t believe a single word this underground criminal says!"

At that moment, a man sitting to the right of the Chairman stood up. "Lawson, your little espionage story is pretty well-constructed, but how long are you planning to direct and act this out yourself?"

Jude slowly turned his gaze. The man speaking was Richard Pierce, Donovan’s father and a senior vice president of the studio.

"And what exactly do you mean by that, Richard?" Jude asked.

Richard sneered. "I’m saying the theatrical act put on by you and your security team is quite a show. Where did you find this bruised actor? The makeup is not bad! There was no real kidnapping at all. Everything you just said is fabricated, aiming to frame my son and destabilize our board! Am I wrong?"

Maxwell Pierce looked at Jude, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. "Lawson, explain this absurd situation immediately."

"I don’t need to explain reality to you," Jude replied. "The kidnapping attempt is true. The police reports from the street outside Apex Records confirm it."

Richard Pierce chuckled, shaking his head. "Oh, you’re right, Lawson! The police reports also noted that an entire warehouse full of armed underground thugs was dismantled by *one man* before the police arrived! Everyone, listen to this! Could such a person actually exist in the real world? Does that sound believable for a Wall Street billionaire?! Is he some kind of martial arts superhero? It is obviously a fake police report bought with your offshore money!"

The Pierce family executives, upon hearing this breakdown, felt that Richard made sense.

"Lawson, you are so vicious! Why are you trying to frame me?! Grandfather, you must stand up for me! He’s trying to harm the Pierce legacy!" Donovan shouted.

Maxwell Pierce was so angry that his hands were shaking.

He glared at Jude from the head of the table. "Lawson, your little stunt has failed. How could you possibly be so powerful as to take down an entire underground gang alone? Unless you show me undeniable evidence right now, I will have security throw you out, and I will press charges for corporate slander!"

Without a single word of defense, Jude calmly reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a burner phone that he had taken from Silas Grey’s pocket back at the warehouse.

He tapped the screen, turned the volume to maximum, and placed it flat on the table.

A recorded audio conversation echoed crystal clear throughout the boardroom.

"How does Young Master Pierce want me to entertain her?" Silas’s voice played from the speaker.

"That little bitch has already signed a renewal contract with Apex,"* Donovan’s arrogant voice replied on the recording. "Once she returns to the studio, she’ll become their golden child. Silas, you help me stage a scandal and force her to resign voluntarily! Ruin her brand completely!"

"Damn it, Pierce, that’s too troublesome. The base fee won’t do, gotta add another hundred thousand for the media leak..."

Upon hearing the recording, every single executive in the Pierce Studios boardroom was paralyzed with shock.

Jude tapped the screen, pausing the recording.

He laughed softly, "Donovan, do you recognize your own voice? This is you ordering the destruction of a rival asset, isn’t it?"

Donovan Pierce’s face changed dramatically, his eyes wide.

Silas Grey then lifted his bruised head from the carpet, coughed up a speck of blood, and chuckled. "Every time I deal with a billionaire, I record the call. I keep a back road for myself as insurance. I didn’t expect it to be useful so soon."

"You might still try to deny it, Richard," Jude said, looking at Donovan’s father. "But that’s perfectly fine. We can have it verified by federal authorities. Moreover, this exact burner phone contains the digital call logs connecting directly to Donovan’s private corporate line! You cannot deny it."