Giovanni's praise was like a massive rock thrown into a still lake, stirring silent waves in the conference room far greater than the earlier uproar.
Everyone froze, including the seasoned, calculating core executives. Their expressions stiffened, their eyes filled with incredulous confusion. Events had unfolded completely beyond their expectations. In their view, faced with such conclusive evidence of a "spy," Giovanni should have flown into a thunderous rage and immediately ordered a purge.
Why... was he offering praise?
Matori was deeply baffled too. She had expected the fatal blow she had so carefully prepared to produce the intended result, never imagining Giovanni would react like this. Far from bringing her joy, this sudden praise filled her with intense unease. She could not read him. She could not read the man before her at all.
Just as everyone thought this praise was merely some form of "courtesy" before Ye Li's execution, and that Giovanni was about to announce his final verdict.
Giovanni deftly shifted the conversation in a direction none of them had anticipated.
"However," his voice remained steady, yet carried a reassuring strength, as though even the most turbulent situation lay within his control, "you were mistaken about one aspect of Ye Li's identity."
He gently placed the report back on the table with a soft tap, drawing everyone's attention.
"He is not a spy."
Giovanni rose from his seat. He was tall, and his movements were unhurried, but the act of standing carried an invisible pressure, as though a mountain were rising from the earth. His gaze slowly swept over every executive present, its depth making everyone who met his eyes instinctively straighten their backs.
"I have known Ye Li's identity perfectly well for a long time."
That statement was more explosive than Matori's earlier report.
"The reason there