Chapter 1218

No.1

Every person present understood—

This battle had just begun.

The secretary projected the agreement sent by Lance onto the large screen in the conference room.

William Yearwood clutched the printed copy, his knuckles turning white.

Melissa Lee stared at the screen, scanning each line of the contract with laser focus.

Her nails dug into her palms.

"Impossible..." she muttered under her breath. "How could it be missing..."

No.2

The other executives exchanged uneasy glances, some already wiping sweat from their brows.

The agreement was meticulously formatted, every clause clearly outlined—except for the most critical detail: the interview fee.

"Have we triple-checked Lance's contact information?" William suddenly demanded, his voice tight.

The secretary hastily handed over a phone. "Verified three times already."

Melissa snatched it and cross-referenced the number with the one in her own contacts.

Her face grew paler by the second.

"Call him," William ordered. "Now. Get this clarified immediately."

No.3

Julian Ashford took the phone, pressed dial, and activated the speaker.

"Hello?" Lance's lazy drawl came through.

"Mr. Yeager, this is Julian Ashford from Horizon Media. Regarding the agreement—"

"What? Not enough terms for you?" Lance scoffed. "Want me to add one where you pay two million dollars for the interview?"

William shot to his feet and grabbed the phone. "Mr. Yeager! This is William Yearwood, Chairman of Horizon—"

"Don't care who you are." Lance cut him off. "One condition: Evelyn Sinclair or nothing."

The line went dead with a decisive click.

No.4

Silence swallowed the conference room.

Evelyn lightly tapped the table. "In that case, my resignation is already submitted to HR."

She turned to Melissa. "Please expedite the approval, Ms. Lee."

Melissa's face drained of all color.

The conference room fell dead silent.

Evelyn's words exploded like a bomb, stunning everyone present.

Not only had she secured the interview with Winston Strauss, but she'd done it without spending a single cent. This surpassed all expectations.

No.5

But the most shocking part was her casual mention of "resigning."

The executives exchanged uneasy glances, their faces etched with regret and embarrassment.

William Yearwood was the first to recover. He forced a smile. "Evelyn, we didn't have all the facts earlier—"

"You made conclusions without knowing the facts?" Evelyn chuckled. "So this is how Horizon Media's leadership operates."

Her words cut like knives.

"Since I'm leaving today, I might as well speak my mind." Her gaze swept across the room. "With Winston Strauss's interview in hand, finding a new employer shouldn't be difficult."

"Wait!" William shot to his feet. "Whoever spoke out of turn earlier—apologize to Evelyn now!"

No.6

A reluctant executive stood. "We're sorry for misunderstanding the situation—"

"Save it." Evelyn cut him off. "I'll take responsibility for my own decisions."

She turned to leave but paused beside Melissa Lee.

"Oh, and thank you, Director Lee. If not for your mocking phone call to Lance Yeager, he wouldn't have been so offended that he gave me the rights for free."

The room erupted.

"What phone call?" William demanded, glaring at Melissa.

Melissa paled. "I—I didn't know it was really Lance Yeager..."

No.7

Evelyn reached the door as William called after her. "Evelyn, please reconsider!"

"No need." She didn't look back. "I'm going home for my maternity leave."

An eerie silence descended.

Julian Ashford stood to leave, but William stopped him. "Julian, talk some sense into her."

"Why should I?" Julian's voice dripped with sarcasm. "No one stopped you from forcing her out earlier."

The tension between father and son thickened.