Earlier in the month, Ian, Zane, and Ian's younger sister Luna had come together to discuss a strategy on how to oust the troublemakers from within the company. Luna was younger than Ian by 18 months, but she was as mature as a woman in her late twenties. Unlike Ian, Luna could go to school, make friends, and enjoy her youth. She was naturally a friendly person, which helped nurture her penchant for analyzing human interactions. At the age of 18, Luna set her sights on the medical field and she eventually decided to become a psychoanalyst. By age 24, she was already highly valued in the business world as a woman who could predict the trends.
Ian always valued Luna's input when making tough business decisions as she understood human behavior better than anyone he knew. Zane's advice was also invaluable. Anytime Ian and Luna would come up with a plan too outrageous, Zane would bring them back to reality from a public relations perspective. With these two by his side, all Ian had to do was tell them his plans and they would point out the flaws. After just a few hours of planning, the trio mobilized. They found and interviewed every single woman that was invited to the building today.
The plan was to have each woman account her story to Luna while connected to a polygraph machine. Over the years, scientific advancements improved the polygraph, and it was now 98% accurate.
Luna had previously advised Ian that there should be no men in the room while the women were speaking. Thus, he organized the two parties into separate groups. In the meeting hall on the 15th floor, were dozens of women who were victimized by someone in his company, while in the Meeting hall on the 3rd floor, were the most important figures within the Lee Group.
As the men entered the rarely used room, they inspected their surroundings and could not help but to notice the large display that showed the screen of a polygraph machine. Once Ian entered the room, he flashed a signal to someone, and Luna's voice rang out from two large speakers at either side of the screen. As she introduced herself and the purpose of the meeting the men began to quiet down.
After Luna was done speaking, she called the women by number and instructed each one to recall the events that happened in detail, without mentioning any identifying details about herself or her assailant. Many of them cried as they recounted the stories and all of them were proven truthful by the polygraph. Two hours had gone by, and the last round of women recounted their stories. At the end of it all the women pleaded with Luna, they feared for their lives and they did not want to leave the safety of the meeting hall. Ian, who was seated at the front of the room, leaned over to Zane, and whispered something in his ear, Zane was gone within seconds.
After the women were done speaking, Ian calmly and coolly stood up and walked to a podium set up at the front of the room just below the display. Ian was well over 6ft tall and his presence demanded attention. His eyes were a deep shade of brown that was nearly black. His color seemed to shift as the light reflected off his pupils and it gave him a supernatural appeal. His jaw was masculine and sharp, and the contours of his face made him appear ethereal. For those who were unaware, the young man at the front of the room would appear to them as an extremely handsome model or actor, but if his gaze fell upon you, it would make you feel as though your soul was being ripped out from your body and dragged down an abyss. He was cold and uncaring. Aloof and domineering. Ian's body was well toned and muscular. Although his muscles were not huge, it was well known that they were not merely for show. While Ian himself never seemed to get his hands dirty. One could only survive in this cutthroat industry if they were willing to do so. Ian was no exception.
Ian welcomed the gathered men with a tone that was neither friendly nor authorize. His posture at the podium was relaxed but his expression was dark. As soon as Ian paused in his greeting he was instantly ambushed with a series of questions. "Are you trying to mentally break us?" One man asked, "I have a daughter," said another man. "How could you make me listen to this?" said another man in a shaky voice. While many of the men were obviously disgusted, another group held an unreadable expression as they did not understand Ian's motives and did not want to appear weak.
Ian ignored their questions and got straight to the point. "I asked these women here today, in order to weed out the men in this company who have abused their positions." Confused, everyone looked at one another. Finally, one man spoke up. "Are you saying that each one of these women was assaulted by someone here?" Ian looked at the man meaningfully and, although he did not speak, the man felt a chill rush down his spine as Ian's eyes met his. This caused a great commotion in the room and the men turned to inspect one another. Patriarchy or not, men should know their limits. As Luna predicted, each man in the room lost trust in the next.
Ian looked around and continued speaking "Those of you who are wondering why your subordinates have not gotten back to you, should not be alarmed. Before this meeting, I instructed my staff to place cell tracking and jamming devices in this room. None of the messages you sent were received." Many of the men went stiff with guilt. While the others in the room did not know who they were; they could recognize their own actions. In a panic, some of them ordered their subordinates by text to immediately deal with specific women by name. They found it strange that no one responded but did not give it much thought.
"This is impossible," said a man. "We must have listened to the accounts of over 20 women in that time." he continued. "35" said Ian in a harsh voice. He did not even look in the man's direction, but the man sat down quickly to avoid the young president's icy stare. He could tell that Ian was losing his patience and with the power of the Lee family, he was capable of anything.
"Are you saying that 35 of the 70 people in this room have engaged in such despicable behavior?" another man said indignantly. "Not at all, however I am saying that out of the 70 people in this room, some of you have engaged in this type of behavior..." Ian paused. Once he was sure he had their attention he continued. "I have already pushed one of these people out, but sadly there are more." Initially the men were suspicious of one another, but now the focus of their gazes shifted toward only a few men in the room.
"How exactly do we prove our innocence then?" asked one of the younger men in the room. Before Ian could answer Zane returned to the meeting. Ian gestured for him to speak "Gentlemen, there are two ways to prove your innocence, the first is to turn over your devices. Those of you who have instructed your subordinates to 'handle' or 'take care of' any situation after entering this room will automatically be suspected." "And the second?" the man asked. "The second way is to submit to a polygraph. If you are innocent, you have nothing to fear."
Just then Luna entered the room followed by two burly men carrying polygraph equipment. When the doors opened, she was sure to let the men see the set of armed police officers waiting outside. Luna had already composed a list of the men who were being directly accused and handed the list to her brother. Looking at the names on the list, Ian was not exactly surprised, he started to lie "this is a list of the questions you will be asked. Each question is related directly to one of the several incidents you have just listened to. The focus of these questions will take place over the last 3 years." The men in the room looked at each other and nodded. While some of them may have abused their power while they were young, they were no longer worried as they knew they were innocent of these crimes and many of them were now married with children.
Zane was the first to step forward. He was asked a question and then told to lie, He was asked another question and then told to tell the truth. Luna continued with the remaining questions after getting Zane's base readings. He, of course, passed the polygraph.
It took nearly two additional hours but eventually only seven men remained. One of the remaining men shook his head in contempt. "Young president, surely you realize that this kind of thing is a common occurrence in the business world?" Why should anyone be held accountable for the actions of fathers against their own daughters?" Ian looked at the man with distaste and asked, "Are you admitting guilt?" The man turned pale and began to clarify. "No, no I am just saying that fathers sell their daughters often and for us to get involved, isn't this creating more strife within the company? You have only been the president for six months. If your father were to find out…" Ian's dark eyes narrowed as he looked at the man. Hearing this Luna knew that if they had not made a solid plan Ian would have been likely to kill the man who spoke on the spot, but, Ian pushed down his anger and said through clenched teeth "My father is no longer the president of this corporation. If anyone dares to threaten me with his name again, I will not go easy on them."
Swallowing hard the man replied with fear in his voice "Still, why should any of us be held accountable for someone else's family issues?" Some of the men in the room began to nod their heads in agreement. Ian breathed deeply and shot a menacing look at each of the men who had begun to agree with such a twisted logic. He finally spoke, and as if he were explaining right from wrong to a bunch or preschool students he calmly and slowly said "If we included, all of the women who were 'sacrificed' for their family, we would not have been able to finish this meeting today. Thus, we purposefully left them out…"
Ian looked directly at the man he really wanted to kill him on the spot but he continued speaking "and while their stories are also a problem that needs to be addressed they have decided to keep their personal matters to themselves." Ian looked around the room again. He wanted to make it clear to everyone that he had the situation under his complete control. He had done his homework and he was aware that there were some men in the room who were guilty but would not be punished today. "The women you heard from today, were all very unwilling participants in the events that occurred. Many of whom faced irrevocable consequences." he said.
Ian turned to the man and continued "so, are you taking the test or not?" he extended his hand and made the 'after you' gesture. The man tried to deflect Ian's invitation and asked if the young president was planning to take the test as well. The surrounding men were shocked. It was well known that Ian was in some sort of relationship with Lisa Anders, who was the daughter of an influential and wealthy family. There was also a rumor that Ian practiced celibacy after he claimed at a company party that he was not ready to take on the responsibility of a woman while he was still trying to develop his career. During that time, he called women a distraction to his success. He was not interested at all.
Hearing this Ian scoffed while removing his jacket, and casually rolled up his sleeves. His sister connected him to the machine and asked him the same questions she had asked all the other men. He of course passed. He had even told the truth on a question that many of the men failed. Ian had never touched a woman in an inappropriate manner at all, ever. The question was thrown into the group just to prevent those who were eyeing a dark path from taking it and to also put others on his radar.
Even after Ian was done the remaining seven men had yet to submit to testing. Embarrassed one of the men asked what would happen to him if he were to admit guilt. Ian calmly told him that he would be asked to resign to avoid implicating the company. He could hear the other men in the room murmur amongst themselves in agreement. Another man asked what would happen if he took the test and failed. Ian simply said that the matter would have to be handed over to the proper authorities. Since three years was still within the five-year statute for sexual assaults and the company could not and would not withhold evidence of a crime. The men thought about the armed officers outside of the doors. It would ruin them if they were dragged out forcefully and even if no charges were filed, the rumors would destroy their reputation and they would not be able to comfortably reenter the business world.
Within no time each of the seven men signed letters of resignation and transferred their shares of the company back to Ian. Of course, Ian compensated them for their shares at the current market value which had plummeted in the last few hours thanks to Mr. Walsh's attempt to take revenge. The men wailed in agony as they sold their shares for half of its value and secretly cursed themselves for helping that good for nothing Mr. Walsh attack the young president's name. The others in the room were equally disgusted and shocked. They had also become weary of the young president. He had single handedly taken back a large portion of the company's shares while also weeding out the people who were against him without resorting to dirty tricks. The young president had simply let them incriminate themselves and used their own crimes against them.
In the end, Ian had solidified his place as the Lee Group president and had also set an example to those who held high positions within his company. Ian coldly looked around the room in warning before he excused himself. No one said a word as he left. He was indeed a formidable young opponent.
Zane quickly caught up to the president. "Has what I ordered been done?" he asked. "Take a look" Zane said as he handed Ian a tablet. All the women had been given new identities and moved to places all over the country. They were provided employment and they were assured that any family member they had to leave behind would be safe. A few of the women had given birth to a child as a direct result of their suffering. These children were also given new identities and they had school fee accounts set up in their name. Ian had not initially thought to do this, but while the women were speaking, he kept imagining the woman he saw earlier in tears. He could not undue what had already been done, but he could at least help and now he had no lingering feelings of guilt. He only hoped that the beauty he saw earlier, would successfully move on with her new life.
Ian left the office early that day.