Chapter 21 #3
Siddhant placed the thick black folder on the podium. He leaned towards the microphone, his dark eyes scanning the silent room, finally locking onto Nandini and Raghav in the front row.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the press, members of the board," Siddhant began, his deep, resonant voice echoing flawlessly through the speakers.
"For the past twenty-four hours, there have been malicious rumors circulating regarding a corporate leak within the Chaturvedi Group.
Today, I am here to present the absolute, undeniable truth. "
The reporters instantly leaned forward, their pens ready.
Siddhant did not open the folder himself.
He stepped back half a pace and nodded respectfully to Poorvanshi.
Poorvanshi stepped up to the microphone. She did not tremble. She did not hesitate. She looked out at the flashing cameras and the staring faces of the board members who had accused her the day before.
"The leaked blueprints for the Singhania Corporation merger were not the result of a rogue external spy," Poorvanshi stated clearly, her sharp, elegant voice carrying massive authority.
"And they were not leaked by me, despite a highly coordinated, criminal attempt to frame my personal email accounts. "
She opened the black folder and pulled out a stack of printed, enlarged server logs.
"We have successfully traced the leak to its true source," Poorvanshi continued, looking directly into Nandini’s terrified eyes.
"The documents were stolen using an internal executive override code.
They were then transmitted directly to the private servers of Viraj Khanna, who is currently sitting in a police holding cell awaiting trial for extortion and kidnapping. "
The room erupted into shocked gasps. The reporters started shouting questions all at once, completely losing their minds over the revelation.
Poorvanshi held up a hand, demanding silence, and the sheer power in her posture made the room instantly quiet down again.
"The internal override code," Poorvanshi announced, delivering the final, fatal blow, "was generated and executed by Nandini Chaturvedi."
Absolute chaos exploded.
Cameras flashed wildly. Reporters shouted. The board members leapt to their feet in utter shock.
Nandini jumped up from her chair, her face twisted in ugly, desperate fury. "It is a lie! She is a liar! She forged those documents to protect herself! Raghav, tell them! Tell them she is lying!"
Raghav couldn't speak. He was staring at the heavy wooden doors at the back of the room, which had just swung open.
A team of uniformed police officers, led by Kabir, marched straight into the press conference.
"Nandini Chaturvedi," the lead officer said loudly, cutting through the screaming crowd. "You are under arrest for criminal conspiracy, corporate espionage, and accessory to kidnapping."
"No!" Nandini shrieked, fighting wildly as the officers grabbed her arms. "You cannot do this! I am a Chaturvedi! Siddhant, stop them!"
Siddhant stood perfectly still beside Poorvanshi, watching his stepmother flail and scream as the police clapped cold steel handcuffs onto her wrists. He felt absolutely no pity. He felt nothing but cold, victorious satisfaction.
"You destroyed this family!" Nandini screamed at Poorvanshi as the police dragged her towards the exit. "You ruined everything!"
Poorvanshi looked at the screaming, pathetic woman, entirely unfazed. She leaned slightly towards the microphone.
"I didn't destroy your family, Nandini," Poorvanshi said softly, but the microphone carried her calm, devastating words to every single person in the room. "I just turned on the lights."
The police dragged Nandini out of the room, her screams fading down the hallway. Raghav, looking utterly broken and defeated, quietly surrendered himself to the remaining officers without a single word, knowing his own complicity would soon be exposed.
The press conference was absolute pandemonium, but Siddhant and Poorvanshi did not stay to answer questions.
Siddhant closed the black folder. He turned to Poorvanshi, a look of profound, overwhelming awe and deep respect shining in his dark eyes. She had faced the fire, she had faced the monsters of his past, and she had completely, flawlessly dismantled them.
He didn't care about the cameras. He didn't care about the board of directors staring at them.
Siddhant reached out, his large hand gently cupping the back of her neck, and pressed a deep, fiercely proud kiss to her forehead.
"You are absolutely terrifying, Miss Rathore," Siddhant murmured against her skin, a massive, genuine smile finally breaking across the face of the Devil of Delhi.
"You haven't seen anything yet, Mr. Chaturvedi," Poorvanshi whispered back, her brown eyes shining with pure joy.
He took her hand, interlacing their fingers tightly, and together, they walked off the podium. They walked out of the chaotic room, completely ignoring the noise, leaving the broken, toxic ruins of the old Chaturvedi empire behind them.
The conspiracy was exposed. The enemies were defeated. And the Devil had finally, truly learned how to trust.