Lily flinched uncontrollably, fear written all over her face. Just watching her like that made my chest tighten.

Once all the employees had crowded into the office, Sophia scooped up a ladle of water and splashed it straight onto my sister’s face.

People exchanged uneasy glances. A flicker of panic passed through the room.

Then, from the crowd, a former secretary who had worked under me for two years started clapping. “That’s Mrs. Shaw! That’s our boss’s wife!”

Others quickly followed, eager to flatter. “Rules make order. I support this!”

Sophia let out a cold laugh and shot my sister a sharp look.

“What are you standing there for?

“Start reading.”

She hung the decibel meter around my sister’s neck. “If you go over ten decibels, you get a ladle of water.”

Lily nodded quickly, lifting the contract, only for Sophia to press it back down.

“And if anyone says they didn’t hear you clearly, that’s five ladles.”

She paused, thinking. “Where did this water come from?”

“The restroom,” someone answered.

A slow, chilling smile spread across her face. “Perfect.”

“One ladle gets poured on you. Five ladles, you drink.”

Lily looked stunned, but in the end, she nodded.

My breathing grew shallow. My vision blurred.

“How did it come to this?”

I couldn’t believe she had become this submissive, that she didn’t even dare resist.

There had to be something I didn’t know.

At Sophia’s command, my sister began reading, her voice trembling.

But on the first sentence, she misjudged her volume.

Sophia kept her word.

A ladle of water drenched her from head to toe. Worse, she had turned the air conditioning down to sixty-one degrees and cranked the fan to high.

Standing directly beneath the vent, my sister shivered violently.

After several rounds, she finally managed to control her voice.

Then suddenly, the secretary interrupted. “Ma’am, sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

Another employee chimed in, “Me neither.”

Lily froze, confused.

Sophia tilted her chin at her. “Are you deaf?

“If someone can’t hear you, what are you supposed to do?

“Did you forget the rules already?”

Lily instinctively stepped back.

That only made Sophia furious.

She stood up and kicked my sister behind the knee, sending her crashing down.

The secretary exchanged a glance with another employee. Together, they dragged my sister over to the buckets.

“Hurry up. Drink.”

Lily resisted weakly. “Sophia… I mean, ma’am… I feel dizzy.”

“Can I not...”

Before she could finish, the secretary shoved her head down into the bucket.

Her muffled cries for help, mixed with the gurgling of water, filled the office.

“Stop!”

A firm voice cut through the chaos.

Several police officers appeared in the frame.

“We received a report. Who is Sophia Blake?”

Sophia shot my sister a vicious glare. “You really had the nerve to call the police?”

The livestream cut off.

The knot in my chest loosened slightly.

At least with the police there, Sophia wouldn’t dare go any further.

The moment the plane landed, my driver picked me up and sped toward the company.

At the same time, I received a follow-up call from the police.

“We’ve looked into the situation. There’s no evidence of abuse.

“Sophia denies everything.”

“That’s impossible,” I said immediately. “The girl she’s abusing is my sister, Lily Carter.”

“Please calm down,” the officer replied. “We spoke to Lily.”

“She stated herself that she was not being mistreated.”

I didn’t know how long the call had been over, but the questions in my mind only kept growing.

By the time I reached the building, even the short wait for the elevator felt unbearable.

The doors opened.

The receptionist froze when she saw me. “M-Ms. Carter? You’re back early?”

I didn’t even slow down. I turned the corner and went straight into the office.

Sophia had my sister by the collar and slapped her hard across the face.

“You think you can call the police?

“Got a death wish?”

Lily looked helpless. “It wasn’t me. I swear, it wasn’t.”

Sophia raised her hand again.

This time, I caught her wrist mid-swing.

“Sophia Blake?”

Before she could react, my hand struck her face.

Hard.

Her delicate skin didn’t stand a chance. The swelling appeared instantly, a trace of blood forming at the corner of her mouth.

Lily stared at me in shock. “Sis...”

“Who the hell are you?” Sophia snapped. “You dare hit me? Do you even know who I am?”

“Someone get in here! Now!”

Ignoring her, I helped my sister to her feet. She had changed into dry clothes, but her body was ice cold.

I opened my suitcase, pulled out a coat, and wrapped it around her shoulders.

She grabbed at my sleeve anxiously. “You shouldn’t have hit her.”

“She’s… she’s...”

I shook my head, telling her to relax, then turned back to Sophia.

“You said you’re the boss’s wife?

“Then who’s your husband? Daniel Shaw?”

Sophia froze for a split second, then spat at me. “Ignorant idiot.”

“Now that you know who I am, you still dare talk back?”

Then, as if flipping a switch, her expression changed. Tears welled up in her eyes.

“Honey, you’re finally here.”

I followed her gaze.

Daniel Shaw.

Hands in his pockets, he walked straight to her, gently touching the bruise on her face.

I clenched my fists. “Daniel, I want an explanation.”

Lily panicked, tugging at me, trying to pull me away.

Sophia snapped, “You think you’re worthy of saying my husband’s name?”

“Apologize. Now.”

Daniel finally looked at me, his gaze sweeping over me with open disdain.

“An explanation?”

“I think you owe me one.”

He patted Sophia’s shoulder. “You hit my wife like this. What do you think I should do to you and your sister?”

I stared at him. “Daniel, have you lost your mind?”

“Do you even recognize who I am?”

He rolled his eyes and laughed. “Of course I do.”

“My ex-wife. The former owner of this company.”

A chill ran through me.

“Unfortunately, you don’t seem to know that I’ve already taken over all your shares.

“And your new company? Hanging by a thread.”

He casually extended his foot. “Tell you what.”

“Lick my shoes clean. Maybe if I’m in a good mood, I’ll consider helping you out, for old times’ sake.”

I let out a short laugh.

Everything suddenly made sense.

Why Lily didn’t dare fight back.

Why Daniel dared to turn against me.

Why every employee treated Sophia like royalty.

So that was it.

“Daniel, you really think too highly of yourself.

“You think forcing me out through a shareholder meeting means you’ve got me cornered?”

I tossed a copy of the contract I had just signed onto the table.

“Take a good look at what I signed today.

“It’s a full acquisition.

“Both of my companies have already been merged into this one.

“You’re trying to play dirty? You’re out of your depth.”

Daniel’s hands trembled as he read it, his face turning ashen.

Sophia moved closer, trying to comfort him, but he shoved her aside.

Like a man unhinged, he tore the contract to pieces.

“That’s impossible!

“You’re lying! I’ve been planning this for so long. There’s no way this happened!”

I smiled coldly.

“Don’t believe me?

“Then just wait and see.”