“He's going to attack Martin,” Derek said when the team gathered at Ironclad.
“Possibly,” Lena replied.
“He'll say the files are fake.”
“He might.”
Marcus leaned against the wall.
“Then we should release everything before he gets the first word.”
“No,” Master Ward said firmly.
Marcus frowned. “Why not?”
“Because if we publish incomplete evidence, we give him an excuse to dismiss the entire investigation. We will not make the same mistake he made by turning people into weapons for a story.”
Marcus lowered his eyes.
“You're right.”
Julian was studying the press conference announcement.
“There is something else. Sloane has invited a former executive from the tournament organization to speak in his defense.”
“Who?” Adrian asked.
Julian turned the screen toward them.
The name beneath the photograph was Daniel Rusk, former legal director.
Adrian’s face changed.
“I remember him.”
“Was he involved in your contract?” Lena asked.
“He reviewed it. He was also the person who told me the private sparring session had been covered by insurance.”
Lena looked at the photograph.
“Then tomorrow, we may finally hear from the person who had access to the legal records.”
But Julian noticed something the others had missed.
Daniel Rusk’s biography stated that he had retired from the organization five years earlier.
Catherine had died six years earlier.
The timing was suspicious, but it proved nothing by itself.
Julian enlarged the photograph.
Pinned to Rusk’s lapel was a small silver emblem.
The same circle. The same three lines.
The symbol that had followed Lena from the first day she entered Ironclad.
The press conference took place in a hotel ballroom filled with reporters, former athletes, and representatives from several martial arts organizations.
Victor Sloane stood behind a polished podium. Daniel Rusk sat to his right, looking composed but visibly uncomfortable.
Neither man appeared pleased when Lena Mercer entered with Master Ward, Adrian Cross, and Dr. Helen Morris.
Marcus, Derek, and Julian followed them.
Cameras turned.
For seven years, Lena had been described in headlines as reckless, dangerous, and incapable of accepting responsibility. Now she walked into the room with the people who had once blamed her.
She did not smile for the cameras.
She simply took her seat.
Sloane began with a speech about integrity, professionalism, and the danger of judging the past by incomplete records.
He never mentioned Catherine Ward by name.
He described the disputed agreement as a document that had “surfaced through ordinary archival procedures” and insisted that the organization had cooperated with the review.
Then he invited Daniel Rusk to speak.
Rusk adjusted his microphone.
“I served as legal director during the period in question,” he began. “I remember the Cross incident. The organization had a duty to protect its athletes, and we relied on the documents available to us.”
“Did you personally verify the signatures?” a reporter asked.
Rusk paused.
“I don't recall reviewing the specific document.”
“Did you authorize the upload of the revised agreement?”
“I would need to see the access logs.”
“Your account was listed among the accounts with administrative access.”
“That does not mean I personally changed anything.”
The answers were cautious, but Lena noticed the way Rusk avoided looking at Adrian.
Dr. Morris rose.
“Our independent review has not yet reached a final conclusion. However, we have secured evidence indicating that the disputed agreement may have been modified after the incident. We have also received records and testimony suggesting that promotional materials were prepared before the rivalry they purported to document.”
A wave of whispers moved through the ballroom.
Sloane leaned toward his microphone.
“Those are unverified allegations.”
“Correct,” Dr. Morris said. “Which is why the review is ongoing.”
Her refusal to exaggerate the evidence left Sloane with little to attack.
Then Adrian stood.
“I was the injured athlete in that incident,” he said. “For years, I blamed Lena Mercer. I told people she had deliberately harmed me. I was wrong.”
The room went quiet.
“I was angry, frightened, and ashamed that my career had ended. I wanted someone to blame. When I learned that Lena had supposedly challenged me, I accepted the story because it gave my anger a target.”
He turned toward Lena.
“She did not deliberately injure me. I have no evidence that she intended to hurt me. I apologize to her publicly, and I will continue to correct the record wherever my false accusations have been repeated.”
Lena listened without interrupting.
Adrian faced the reporters again.
“I am also submitting my original correspondence and contract records to the independent investigation. I hope the truth will be established through evidence, not revenge.”
Sloane’s expression remained controlled, but his fingers tightened around the edge of the podium.
Marcus stood next.
“I was prepared to sign a promotional agreement with Mr. Sloane,” he said. “I wanted sponsorship, recognition, and a faster route to success. I didn't ask enough questions about what I was agreeing to.”
He looked toward Lena.