Tiffin stood up from the restaurant table, her smile calm and professional as she shook Lois's hand. "Welcome to MM Label," she said warmly.

Lois grinned from ear to ear. "Thank you so much. I can't believe this is really happening."

Tiffin nodded with a smirk almost plastered on her face. "Believe it. You've earned it."

As Lois and her agent, Clara, walked out of the restaurant, Kelvin leaned forward slightly and smirked. "Problem one handled."

Tiffin gave a small smile. "Now, time for problem two."

They both left quietly, got into their black car, and drove straight to UCL Label headquarters. The ride was silent. The tension could be felt even before they arrived.

When they entered the boardroom, the entire place felt cold. The shareholders were already seated, along with Urich, the CEO. Everyone's faces were stiff. No one dared to speak first.

Tiffin and Kelvin sat down at the long glass table. For a few seconds, the only sound in the room was the quiet hum of the air conditioner.

Then Tiffin spoke, her voice calm but cutting.

"Mr. Michael is not happy," she said. "He gave you people a chance on this matter quietly, but instead, you made things worse."

"You all know that he should have reacted the moment Vivian put that video out; instead, he gave you a chance, and yet you all screwed up."

Nobody moved.

She continued, her tone firmer. "You failed to tell him that Dayo had solid evidence that could backfire. He wanted to use the scandal to push him into a deal, and it backfired. Badly that he used it to promote a song, I am sure you all can imagine how angry Micheale would be."

Urich looked down, while Chris tried to stay composed, but everyone in the room could see the fear in their eyes.

Tiffin leaned back slightly. "Now, here's how this will go. Those involved will not be spared. Either you clean this mess yourselves, or Mr. Michael will make sure this label starts to fall apart piece by piece."

One of the shareholders swallowed hard. "What exactly do you mean?"

Tiffin crossed her legs and looked him straight in the eye. "I'll give you my suggestion. First, remove Vivian completely. She's done too much damage to your brand. Erase her from every plan."

She paused, then continued. "Second, Chris. He was part of it. He stays here, and this label's name will stay dirty. Get rid of him, too."

Chris frowned, his face turning red. "Wait—"

Tiffin cut him off. "No. You wait. You're lucky Mr. Michael didn't decide to handle this himself. You would not be sitting here."

The room went silent again. Eric looked tense, his fingers gripping the table slightly.

Tiffin stood up slowly, smoothing her jacket. "I've said what I came to say. The rest is up to you. But I'll advise you to act fast before this decision comes back to bite you."

Without another word, she turned and walked out with Kelvin following behind her. The door closed behind them, and silence filled the boardroom.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then one of the older shareholders sighed and looked straight at Eric. "You heard her. What now?"

Urich leaned back slowly, rubbing his temple. "I warned you," he said quietly. "I told you Dayo had evidence. I told you this could blow up."

Chris slammed his hand on the table. "You're just trying to push the blame, Urich!"

Urich snapped back. "I'm not pushing anything! I told you from day one this could go wrong, but you didn't listen. I still r,einded you that he had evidence if you had listened and informed them this wouldn't be happening."

"Alright, that's enough," another shareholder said firmly. "The label's image is more important than your argument."

He turned to Chris. "You have to go."

Chris froze. "What?"

"You heard me," the man said. "You're being forced to sell your share. You've brought enough trouble already."

Chris laughed bitterly. "You can't do that."

"Yes, we can," the man replied calmly. "And before you try anything foolish—remember, you're not the only one with secrets. We have things that could end you in jail, so I suggest you concur."

Chris's expression changed. He clenched his jaw and slowly sat back down, saying nothing more.

The shareholders exchanged uneasy looks. Finally, the oldest among them turned to Urich. "I'm sorry, Urich," he said quietly. "You've done a lot for this label, but we can't take more risks. You'll have to step down, too."

Urich looked tired, defeated. "And what now?" he asked softly.

The shareholder sighed. "Before you leave, we have one last thing for you to do."

Urich raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"Fire Vivian," the man said simply. "End her contract, clear her from the system, and make it official before the day ends."

Urich didn't reply immediately. He just nodded slowly, his face cold. "Fine," he said. "I'll handle it."

The meeting ended quietly. One by one, the shareholders left the room, leaving Urich sitting alone, staring blankly at the company's logo on the wall.

Everything he had built was crumbling. He remembered vividly what Dayo said to him before cutting the line; he just sighed at his bad luck.

****

Urich walked back to his office after the meeting, his face blank. The hallway felt colder than usual. Everyone he passed looked away, pretending to be busy.

When he got to his desk, he sat down heavily, leaned back, and rubbed his forehead. Everything felt like it was falling apart at once.

He looked at his assistant and said quietly, "Call Vivian and Paul for me."

The assistant nodded quickly and left the room. A few minutes later, the door opened. Vivian and Paul walked in, both looking nervous.

"Sit," Urich said simply.

They sat. The room went silent for a few seconds. Then he looked at Vivian — his eyes cold and tired.

"You know you're really dumb, right?" he said slowly. "No, let me rephrase that — you're stupid beyond repair."

Vivian's eyes widened slightly. She didn't say anything.

Urich continued, his tone rising with anger. "Do you know how many chances you've had? Do you realize this same boy you tried to ruin before forgave you? He actually let you walk free! And you still had the guts to do the same thing again."

Vivian looked down, tears already filling her eyes, if she knew what was coming.

"You thought you were smart," Urich said sharply. "You thought because you had a little fame, you could do whatever you liked. Now look where it got you."

Vivian wiped her tears, shaking her head. "Sir, please, I—"

"Don't," Urich cut her off. "Don't even bother. The label is cutting ties with you. You're done here."

She froze. "What? No, please! You can't—"

"There's nothing anyone can do," Urich said coldly. "You brought this on yourself. You ruined every bridge we built. Michael is looking for a way to release his anger, and now you've given him a reason to destroy what's left of us."

Vivian broke down completely, covering her face as tears streamed down. The sound filled the office, but Urich didn't even look at her again.

He turned his eyes to Paul.

"As for you," Urich said in a calmer tone, "I don't even know what to say. You followed her lead and dragged yourself into this." He pointed at Vivian, who was still crying softly. "But I can't even blame you. I understand what it's like to get caught up in the wrong situation."

Paul looked confused. "Sir… what do you mean?"

Urich gave a faint, bitter smile. "It means I'm going too. The shareholders already made the call."

Paul's eyes widened. "They're letting you go? But, sir, you built this place. You brought this label back up!"

Urich gave a small nod. "That's how this industry works. You cross the wrong person, and everything falls apart."

He leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling. "That's the cost of offending Michael. Once he decides you're in his way, there's no saving you."

For a moment, the room went quiet again. Vivian was still crying softly, Paul sat frozen, and Urich just stared ahead — expressionless.

After a while, he stood up slowly. "That's all. Both of you should clear your desks. Security will escort you out."

He turned and looked out the window — the city lights glowing far below.

"Hmm, I'm tired and need to rest."

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