Madelyn’s hand was still resting on the back of Homelander’s hand; she could feel his knuckles tightening.
"This is the result of your handling? PR routines with not a shred of originality!" Lucas handed the phone back to Annie January. "The public isn’t stupid; the shelf life of your little tricks is getting shorter and shorter."
"Last time you spent three days cooking up a story, and it only fooled a fraction of the people. Going to cook up another one next time?"
"Same old soup, different medicine. The foundation is rotten. You can block this one, but can you block the next one?"
Annie January, listening from the side, couldn’t help but speak up.
"He’s right!"
Madelyn turned to look at this newcomer, who had only joined the team a few days ago.
Annie January’s voice was a bit nervous, but very firm.
"I joined The Seven because I believed this place stood for justice. If the problems within the team are just being covered up rather than solved, then this justice is fake."
"I firmly support Homelander’s decision!"
Homelander glanced at Annie January and nodded repeatedly.
This newcomer, this young girl, was actually the second person to stand on his side.
Assuming Lucas counted as the first.
Madelyn’s expression remained composed with a smile, but her heart rate had already spiked to 110.
She was losing control of the situation.
"Annie, you’re new here, there are some things you don’t fully understand..."
Madelyn wanted to hint for Annie January not to interfere, however...
"She understands enough."
This time, it was Queen Maeve who spoke.
No one expected Queen Maeve to speak up.
She had been drinking from start to finish, looking as if the matter had nothing to do with her.
But now she put down her glass, leaned back in her chair, and stared straight at Madelyn.
"Madelyn, every time you come here, it’s the same routine. You don’t take our reputation seriously at all, and in the end, nothing ever changes."
"The Deep harassing women—you can’t tell me you didn’t know. You were the one who personally scouted him from the Supe Academy!"
"The drugs A-Train is taking shouldn’t be available on the market. I don’t believe Vought couldn’t track down where those bottles came from!"
"As a Vought executive, you actually know everything. You just don’t care!"
Queen Maeve’s tone was filled with resentment. "Because they are Vought’s biggest brand names. As long as the sign is still hanging there, it doesn’t matter if there are cockroaches everywhere behind the scenes, as long as it brings profit to Vought, as long as it keeps your position in the company secure..."
"Heh!"
Madelyn’s smile finally couldn’t be maintained.
Annie January was one thing; she was a newcomer and easily swayed.
But Queen Maeve, a veteran, actually dared to talk back to her?
The atmosphere in the conference room became very delicate.
Homelander, Annie January, Queen Maeve, and Guardian were all standing on the same line, unanimously opposing Madelyn?
If the senior shareholders knew about this, Madelyn’s position would likely no longer be as stable as before.
Ashley shrank into the corner, wishing she could turn into Translucent.
She knew that in this situation today, she couldn’t hold out by brute force.
Homelander had already been incited, Annie January and Queen Maeve were adding fuel to the fire, and the instigator was sitting with his legs crossed, watching the show.
Madelyn needed to change her strategy.
"Fine."
Madelyn stood up, smoothed her cuffs, and regained her composed demeanor.
"Since everyone feels there should be a cleanup, then we’ll clean up."
She looked at Homelander.
"But I will arrange the press conference. The timing, the wording, and the process will all be unified and controlled by the PR department. You are responsible for appearing and showing the responsibility of a captain."
"This is my bottom line."
Homelander didn’t object this time.
What he wanted was the result—A-Train and The Deep getting kicked out, and his image warming up or even improving.
As for how the press conference was held, it didn’t matter.
"Within three days." Homelander added.
"Three days is too short, we..."
"Just three days. If it exceeds this time, I’ll take action myself."
Homelander’s tone left no room for negotiation.
Madelyn pursed her lips into a line and finally nodded.
She turned toward the door, and when she passed by Lucas, her footsteps paused.
"You are playing with fire."
Lucas couldn’t be bothered to respond.
What he wanted were emotional points; he joined Vought for this in the first place.
Did she really think he was doing this for love?
...
[Key Character: Madelyn]
[Emotional Change: Compromise, Loss of Control, Escalated Hostility]
[Evolution Points Gained: +2,134]
...
[Key Character: Annie January — Justice, Deepened Trust]
[Evolution Points Gained: +967]
...
[Key Character: Queen Maeve — Release, Venting]
[Evolution Points Gained: +1,544]
...
Current Evolution Points: 76,371 / 100,000
After the meeting ended, Lucas was the last one to leave the conference room.
In the hallway, Queen Maeve was leaning against the wall waiting for him.
"This show today was directed by you personally, right!"
"With Homelander’s brain, he could never figure out the logic of this layer. He doesn’t have that kind of vision."
"I only gave a little suggestion."
"Suggestion?" Queen Maeve chuckled. "You’re using Homelander as a gun, letting him go against Vought while you sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight."
Lucas leaned against the opposite wall, facing Queen Maeve across the hallway.
"Since you saw it, why did you help me speak?"
"Because I also want to see Madelyn get deflated, and besides, I don’t like Homelander anymore."
Queen Maeve’s reply was crisp and clear.
...
[Key Character: Queen Maeve — Emotional Change: Appreciation]
[Evolution Points Gained: +1,203]
...
Current Evolution Points: 77,574 / 100,000
...
Lucas returned to his office.
He called the PR department and specifically asked for Ashley to come up.
When Ashley knocked and entered, she looked like a wrung-out dishcloth.
A few strands of her hair were loose at her temples, and there was a red slap mark on her face.
As for who slapped her, there was no need to ask.
"Sit!"
Lucas acted as if he didn’t see it.
Ashley sat down, her back straight, not daring to look around.
"Relax, I don’t eat people."
Lucas poured her a glass of water and pushed it over.
"You saw what happened in the conference room today," Lucas leaned back in his chair, his tone relaxed and casual. "Madelyn finally compromised and will arrange a press conference within three days."
"...Yes."
"How do you think she will arrange it?"
Ashley was silent for a moment, then spoke about the usual tactics of Vought PR.
"She will try to minimize the loss, perhaps have A-Train and The Deep withdraw for personal reasons, avoid mentioning any scandal details, and control the public narrative within the framework of team optimization and upgrades."
"And then?"
"Then... this matter will be considered closed. Vought’s stock price will fluctuate in the short term and stabilize in the long term."
"And what about you?"
Ashley was stunned.
"Me?"
"Yes!" Lucas looked at her. "From start to finish on this matter, you are the first person called to clean up the mess. You suppressed the heat on A-Train’s video, and you were responsible for coordinating when The Deep had issues."
"Even when Homelander went crazy, you were the first one to rush in. In my view, if there’s no credit, there’s at least hard work."
"But she doesn’t seem very satisfied with you."
Lucas paused, his gaze falling on the palm print.
Ashley’s expression changed instantly.
Stop messing with me!!
How could she not see it now? Lucas had just finished messing with Homelander, and now he had set his sights on her!