Meanwhile, Shin had only glanced at the screen earlier. He had no intention of looking at it again, unwilling to subject his eyes to such filth.
Secretary Yun, who had been preparing to continue the presentation, was visibly displeased. Of all moments, this had to happen during KGG's segment.
"Boss, should we continue?" he asked cautiously.
At that moment, Shin's phone buzzed.
He glanced at the message, his brows furrowing almost instantly. Without another word, he gestured for Secretary Yun to proceed as he saw fit before stepping down from the stage in haste.
The staff scrambling to turn off the screen must have pressed the wrong button.
Instead of going dark, the screen flickered, then shifted.
A photo appeared, then another.
Bryce Gate and Vanessa… inside a car looking intimate. Kissing from different angles, undeniable and unforgiving.
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd like a stone dropped into still water.
Heads turned in unison toward Bryce.
Bryce: "…"
Calin: "…"
Shin paused mid-step. He turned, his gaze lingering briefly on the screen before sliding toward Bryce.
Calin's face had gone deathly pale, shock hollowing out her features. It was clear, she had known nothing about this.
She had expected Yeri to be exposed, perhaps tangled with Tristan.
But instead, Madam Neri and Xavier Song… and worse, her own fiancé with Vanessa?
This wasn't just humiliation. This was public execution.
She would become the laughingstock of the entire city!
"Bryce Gate, explain yourself! What is the meaning of this?!" Calin demanded, her chest rising and falling violently, her reddened eyes brimming with fury and betrayal.
"Shut up. Not now," Bryce snapped through gritted teeth.
But Calin Ricci was not a woman who swallowed humiliation.
She yanked his arm, glaring at him with blazing fury. "Since when? Since when did you hook up with that bitch? Don't you have standards?! You don't mind someone who's been with so many men and even schemed against Zahn Neri- "
Bryce grabbed her arm harshly, the veins in his neck bulging. "Have you lost your mind? Stop making a scene!"
"Lost my mind?!" Calin's voice shot up, sharp enough to cut glass. "You think I'm insane? What do you take yourself for, some grand prize? If not for my family's backing and connections, would you have risen this fast in this city? I, Calin Ricci, am not someone you can humiliate and cheat on!"
Bryce's hand twitched, as if on the verge of striking her, when his gaze suddenly locked onto Shin who was quietly slipping away from the chaos.
In an instant, Bryce shoved the hysterical Calin aside and lunged forward, grabbing Shin Keir by the collar.
"It was you, wasn't it?" he demanded, his voice edged with fury. "You knew what was going to happen, so you set me up!"
A wave of gasps rippled through the crowd.
Some tried to intervene, urging Bryce to calm down, others questioning why he was targeting Shin Keir.
"If you hadn't been fooling around, would you even be in this situation?" Shin replied coolly, prying Bryce's hand off his collar. "With so many people watching, don't be impulsive and start accusing others without proof."
Bryce let out a sharp, unhinged laugh, his composure crumbling. "If it wasn't you, then who? This happened during your presentation. And who doesn't know about the bad blood between the Keirs and the Songs? You've always known about my cooperation with them. You wanted to deal with us, didn't you? But your methods… truly despicable."
His words were forceful, persuasive even.
For a moment, the tide of public opinion wavered.
Then Master Song, already shaken and humiliated by the scandal involving his son Xavier and Madam Neri, rushed forward, his face flushed with anger.
He pointed a trembling finger at Shin.
"You heartless, despicable Keirs! You haven't changed at all. The heir may be different, but the same vicious blood runs through your veins. What did my son ever do to you? I refuse to believe he would have such a relationship with Madam Neri. He must have been set up!"
"No offense," Saeki suddenly interjected, her tone light but cutting, "but I've known for quite some time that your son has been dating Madam Neri."
Master Song froze.
The entire crowd "...."
"What nonsense are you spouting?!" Master Song roared, looking as though he might collapse on the spot. "Of course you'd take the Keirs' side. Saeki Jie, stay out of this!"
Bryce seized the moment, his lips curling into a smug smile. "Speaking of which… where is your fiancée, Shin Keir? Why isn't she by your side? Or did you send her to do this? With her programming skills, it wouldn't be hard to hack into the screen system."
He tilted his chin toward the now-dark massive screen.
Like seeds cast into dry grass, suspicion spread instantly.
Murmurs rose and glances shifted.
Could it be true? Was this all staged?
Were Bryce Gate and Xavier Song the real victims?
Shin, who had looked indifferent just moments ago, turned his gaze on Bryce, cold, lethal, final.
Dragging Yeri into this was the worst mistake Bryce could have made.
"So you're saying I fabricated everything?" Shin asked evenly. "That your cheating, and Xavier Song's intimate relationship, are all lies?"
"Obviously," Bryce shot back. "Who else would benefit from this, if not you?"
"Perhaps the Keirs might gain something against the Songs," Shin replied, his voice calm, almost bored. "But what exactly would I gain from ruining you?"
Bryce's eyes gleamed. "Maybe you didn't like my relationship with Calin but we both know that wasn't the whole story."
The crowd erupted once more.
A love triangle? Regret? Hidden feelings?
The narrative twisted faster than anyone could keep up.
"No offense," Saeki cut in again, this time with a faint smile, "but I've known big bro since high school. Calin never dated him. I'll stake my surname on it. In fact, he probably doesn't even remember what she looks like just like the countless other women he's met aside from sister in-law."
Calin, still reeling from Bryce's betrayal, stood frozen, her expression blank.
The crowd "...??"
"No offense? Saeki Jie, what are you trying to achieve?" Bryce scoffed, "everyone knows you're the one who keeps the Keirs' dirty laundry from surfacing, especially Shin Keir's. As the CEO of an entertainment company, handling scandals must be effortless for you."
Before Saeki could respond, Shin stepped forward, his voice cutting clean through the noise.
"Bryce Gate, this isn't a marketplace where you can throw accusations around freely," he said coldly. "If you believe I'm behind this, then take it to court. My lawyers will be more than happy to deal with you."
But Bryce wasn't about to let it end there.
Not with the media present and not when the scandal was already spreading like wildfire.
Whether true or not, the damage had been done. And the only way left for him to evade it was to plant doubt, to twist the narrative just enough so that the villain standing at the center of it all became Shin Keir instead.
Shin, who had been trying to leave, found his path blocked once again by Bryce.
The man's eyes burned with provocation, as if he were waiting for Shin to finally snap and throw the first punch.
"Bryce Gate… or should I say Bryce Keir?" Shin drawled, his voice laced with cold amusement. "You haven't changed at all. Still playing childish tricks, and when things don't go your way, you turn around and blame others. Just as cowardly and detestable as ever."
Bryce's earlier confidence faltered, clearly not expecting Shin to expose the past so openly.
After all, he had always believed Shin feared the truth being revealed to the public, not only about his illegitimacy but also about replacing Bryce Gate as the former heir apparent.
"I heard your group handled tonight's technical setup," Shin continued casually. "Are you saying your people are so incompetent that my fiancée managed to hack into your system? Then again, I suppose it's not impossible. I heard she easily wiped the floor with one of your best programmers at a hacking competition."
If looks could kill, Bryce's bone-piercing glare would have reduced Shin to ashes.
What made it worse was the collective gasp from the surrounding crowd, their curiosity ignited. They leaned in, hungry for more, as whispers spread like wildfire.
"In my opinion, you were the one scheming against me," Shin went on, unfazed. "You just never expected the blade to turn back on you. I can understand why you came back to Sin City. It must be infuriating… watching me, the illegitimate son, replace you and take your place."
Another wave of gasps rippled through the crowd.
Cameras flashed from every direction, phones raised high as any sense of decorum crumbled under the weight of scandal.
"But I can't blame the elders," Shin added with a shrug. "After all, an illegitimate son is still better than a bastard with no Keir bloodli—"
Bryce snapped as he lunged forward, his fist slicing through the air, but Shin dodged smoothly.
The already chaotic scene erupted into full-blown pandemonium.
Screams overlapped, voices clashed, chairs toppled, and tables overturned. Glass shattered across the floor like brittle ice under pressure as the two men fought.
"Bryce Gate! Why are you fighting Brother Shin again?" Calin cried out in panic and agitation. "You already lost to him before, how much more do you want to embarrass me?!"
"???"
Those who heard her fell into stunned silence.
So it was true.
There really was a deeper, tangled history between Shin Keir and Bryce Gate.
—
From a distant corner, Vanessa hid herself.
The moment the photos of her and Bryce filled the massive screen, she had quickly covered her face and slipped away.
To be honest, she had felt a thrill watching Madam Neri and Xavier's relationship get exposed, even if that hadn't been part of the original plan.
But her excitement didn't last long. When it was her turn, the spotlight burned. Once again, she became famous but in a way no one would ever want.
Seeing no reason to stay, she hurried toward the exit, only to come face-to-face with Madam Neri and Xavier the moment the elevator doors opened.
Both sides froze.