Chapter 67

Riley glanced outside the building at the protesters rallying against the sudden collaboration between BioSynthix and LunaVera. Most of the protesters were workers voicing their discontent about the additional workload the development would require. Although the majority had agreed to the terms and conditions, some insisted on being heard.

With a sigh, Riley was about to head into her office when she spotted Sienna's car. The shouts of the protesters grew louder, and she paused, monitoring the escalating scene. Several guards had already rushed to secure Sienna.

Unable to stand by any longer, Riley jogged towards the entrance. As she reached Sienna, a glass bottle was hurled in their direction. Riley instinctively shielded Sienna, but the bottle struck her head instead. Groaning in pain, she felt the chaos around them momentarily freeze as the protesters realized the harm they had caused.

"Jeez," Riley muttered, quickly checking Sienna for any injuries. "Are you okay?" she asked, noticing Sienna's shock at the sudden turn of events.

"Zoey, get Sienna inside!" Riley called out as she saw Zoey rushing forward. "I'll handle this," she added, turning her focus back to the protesters, determination etched on her face.

Riley stood firm, watching as the guards continued their efforts to secure the area. She signaled for them to stand down and walked toward the protesters. "For those of you who work with BioSynthix, please show me your employee identification so I can address your concerns," she said, rubbing the spot where the bottle had struck her.

She took a breath, her voice steady but firm. "For those protesting just to add to the chaos, I kindly ask you to leave. I won't entertain any nonsense that doesn't involve you. All official employees with valid identification, please step forward. I will speak with you privately. You don't need to rally every day to have your voices heard."

Riley continued, her gaze steady on the crowd. "I understand that you want to express your opinions, but this isn't the only way. Please refrain from causing harm to our fellow business owners and employees; that goes against our principles here at BioSynthix. Today's events demonstrate that when rage takes over your emotions, chaos will inevitably follow."

She paused, allowing her words to sink in before finishing, "I will have the guards collect your identifications and validate them in the company database. After that, let's arrange a meeting to discuss your concerns."

Right after her quick speech, Riley asked one of the guards for assistance in collecting the identifications of the protesters to validate against the company database. Once she had dismissed the rally, she sighed and headed into the building, making her way to the board of directors meeting.

Inside, Sienna fidgeted with her fingers as she waited for Riley. Zoey was with her, and when her phone chimed with a reminder, she stood and walked over to Sienna.

"There might be a delay in Riley's return," Zoey said, gently tapping Sienna's shoulder. "Would you like to wait for her here? She has a board meeting now, and I don't think she'll be back anytime soon."

Sienna nodded, following Zoey's retreating back. The collaboration between their two companies had drawn sudden attention from the media and their employees, sparking rallies and unrest.

An hour passed before Riley entered her office. Sienna stood up, eager to greet her, but her excitement was cut short when a voice startled her.

"You can't do this to me, Ms. Pierce!" a man in a suit barged into the office, followed closely by Zoey. The man looked to be in his mid-forties.

"Why not?" Riley asked coolly, not bothering to meet his gaze as she strode to her desk and dropped a folder with a sharp thud.

"That's just a baseless accusation! Dismissing me will cost you dearly! You know how I work with your mother!" the man shouted, attempting to close the distance between them. Zoey hurried to intervene, while guards rushed into the office as well.

"Mr. Kim, I understand your frustration," Riley replied, her voice firm. "You've been with my mother for a long time, which is precisely why I'm puzzled. Why did you feel the need to manipulate information and sell it for public use?"

"You have no proof!" he retorted.

"Oh, sweet, I have plenty. That's why you're being dismissed from your position. And it's not just my decision; the board of directors is involved as well," Riley stated, stepping closer to him. "You're dismissed until further notice, Mr. Kim. We will be obtaining a court order for your investigation. Once we validate the evidence against you, you're out of here."

Riley heaved a sigh, bowing her head as Sienna gently examined the bruise on her head where the bottle had struck. They had returned to Riley's apartment after the chaos in the office.

"It left a bruise," Sienna said, applying an ice compress to Riley's injury. Riley remained silent, pulling Sienna closer and burying her face against her stomach.

"What's wrong?" Sienna asked, concern etching her features.

"I need to tell you something," Riley replied, looking up to meet Sienna's gaze. She guided Sienna to sit on her lap, wrapping her arms around her waist for comfort.

"What is it?" Sienna asked, her worry deepening as she looked at Riley.

"Do you remember Mr. Kim? The man who barged into my office?" Riley began, searching for the right words to explain the situation. "I've been investigating the capital losses our company incurred after we released that new medicine two years ago. The trials were successful, but once a third-party company bought it and launched it publicly, we faced a significant issue—BioSynthix lost about 35.5% of our capital. That's a huge impact on our overall net worth."

Sienna listened intently, her expression serious as she absorbed Riley's words.

"The thing is," Riley continued, her voice steadying, "while tracking down the transaction, I discovered that the receiving company was only a third-party distributor. But... Sienna," she paused, gathering her thoughts, "I found out that the receiving company is LunaVera. And it was signed by your father."

"What?" Sienna stood up, her eyes wide in disbelief. "What do you mean?" she asked, searching Riley's face for answers.

Riley ran her fingers through her hair, a sign of her frustration. "What I'm saying is that the medicine released to the public could have been compromised."

"And you're suggesting that my father might be involved in this?" Sienna's brows furrowed, a mix of anger and confusion swirling within her.

"There's a possibility, Sienna," Riley replied, rising to her feet. She sighed, the weight of the situation pressing down on her. "It's not final—the investigation is ongoing—but..." She gulped, hesitant.

"But what?" Sienna moved closer, her expression earnest.

Riley cupped Sienna's cheeks, rubbing her thumbs over her skin. "But if your father is proven to be involved, he could face imprisonment for compromising the medicine. And LunaVera, your company, might be severely impacted. I'm telling you this because I don't want to work against you, but I need to protect my family's reputation too."

"Do you need my help?" Sienna asked, trying to grasp what Riley truly wanted from her.

Riley hitched her breath before letting out a bitter laugh. "I need you to step down as CEO and let your father take over again. You don't need to get involved in this—"

Sienna pushed Riley away gently, disbelief etched on her face. "What do you mean, not get involved? I'm already involved, Riley. I'm in a relationship with you, and I'm the daughter of the owner of LunaVera—the very company you're saying is implicated in this scandal."

"That's why I'm asking you to step down," Riley said, grasping Sienna's hands and applying light pressure.

Sienna shook her head, resolute. "I'm not stepping down—not yet. If you want to investigate my father, then go for it. I'll help however I can. But no, I'm not stepping down until you've proven that these accusations are true."

"What?" Riley struggled to understand Sienna's determination to remain as LunaVera's CEO.

"What I'm saying is, if you can prove that the accusations are true, I'll use that as an opportunity to step down and publicly expose the manipulations my father used to force me into an arranged marriage. I'll reveal how he orchestrated our breakup."