I slumped into my chair, my heart sinking.

By the time work ended, the once lively office floor had turned eerily silent.

The moment I stepped out, conversations stopped, and people scattered like they'd been caught gossiping.

Shawn Foster, who had started the company with me, stood up and said, "Ms. Lane, I heard you refused to let the team go on the company trip. Is that true?"

I arched a brow. I'd only said no to Zoey using my corporate credit card, but somehow, they twisted it into me opposing the trip altogether.

I glanced at Zoey. Guilt flickered in her eyes as she explained, "Harry and I only wanted to lift everyone's spirits and do what's best for the company, Samantha."

The others looked at me with open hostility.

I kept my voice steady. "I never said you couldn't go on the trip."

Right then, Harry spoke up. "Then give Zoey your corporate credit card so she can book the flights."

Zoey's face brightened instantly. Thinking I'd given in, she stepped forward to take the card from my hand.

I tightened my grip around it and said calmly, "I won't let people with ulterior motives use my corporate credit card."

Harry's expression darkened. "How can you be so nasty? Zoey's doing this for everyone's sake. Why would you say she has ulterior motives? You owe her an apology!"

Whenever he lost his temper in my previous life, I'd cave in immediately, apologize, and do whatever he asked of me.

Now, however, I could hardly wait for this shameless pair to disappear from my life.

"If you think I'm so nasty, let's just get divorced. Since Zoey means that much to you, I wish you both eternal bliss!"

Harry's face hardened. He hadn't expected me to fight back.

Zoey looked at me pitifully. "Samantha, nothing is going on between us. I only see Harry as a brother. Please don't be upset. I even booked a couple's suite for you two on the trip."

The others chimed in almost instantly.

"Ms. Lane, don't be so narrow-minded. Zoey is merely trying to help the company, as well as you and Mr. Jennings."

"Every company retreat we've ever had has been so boring."

"We've been killing ourselves for these projects. Why won't you let us go on a trip to Slarqia? That's just stingy."

Their voices overlapped, each word siding with Zoey.

I listened in silence, a cold heaviness filling my chest.

Other than national holidays, I paid for every company dinner and monthly outing myself. And yet they called me stingy.

Zoey saw me getting ganged up on, and a smug glint flashed in her eyes as she fanned the flames. "Since Ms. Lane won't agree, I'll cancel the hotel bookings. We'll just keep slaving away and making money for the company!"

Her words put me in the center of the storm.

Already simmering with resentment, one employee suddenly hurled a cup of water in my face. Another flung a stack of files at me. More and more of them closed in, shoving and shouting.

Suddenly, my heel slipped, and I hit the floor hard.

Fury tore through me. "Who told you I disagreed with the trip? All I said was that she couldn't use my corporate credit card!" I shouted.

The office fell silent, and the crowd exchanged glances.

"Why can't she use it? You'd get points and discounts anyway," Shawn said, then pulled out his own card and handed it to Zoey. "Here. Use mine. It's not unlimited, like Ms. Lane's, but it'll do."

Zoey forced a smile, clearly reluctant, and took it.

I drew a deep breath, my fingers digging into my palms until they left red marks.

…

The next morning, as soon as I reached my office, I noticed the door was unlocked.

My heart skipped a beat, and I rushed to check the drawers. Thankfully, everything was still there.

To be sure, I reviewed the security footage, and sure enough, Zoey and Harry had snuck into my office after I'd left the day before.

They searched through every drawer but didn't find what they were looking for.

Relief washed over me. It was a good thing I'd taken the important documents and my corporate credit card home the day before and hidden them.

I was about to put my phone down when a text from the revenue agency popped up. It reminded me that I hadn't paid my taxes in full, and my company account would be frozen if I missed the deadline.

Then, I remembered—back when we were expanding the business, the finances were tight, and my accountant had warned me about it.

I had looked at the timeline and thought I had time, so I hadn't paid right away. Later, with so many things happening, I completely forgot about it.

Just as I was about to call the accountant, an idea struck me. If the company account got frozen, even their corporate credit cards wouldn't work.

I let out a long breath and put the phone down.

That night, I finally slept peacefully. But my sister, Sophia Lane, called in the middle of the night. She was crying, saying that our mother had suffered a brain hemorrhage while on a business trip in Slarqia and was now in the hospital.

My heart dropped, and I immediately booked the earliest flight out.

When I arrived at the airport, I ran into Harry, Zoey, and the others.

Harry saw me and sneered. "I thought you were trying to save the company money. So why did you follow us here? Apologize to Zoey in front of everyone, and we'll take you along."

I felt a wave of annoyance and shook his hand off. I was in a hurry to go to the hospital.

Harry's anger flared when I ignored him. He kicked my suitcase across the floor and yelled, "Samantha! Don't act like you can walk all over me! Since you're already here, stop throwing a tantrum. Apologize, and we could let it slide."

I slapped him, furious. "Get out of my way! My mom is in the hospital. I don't have time for you."

Harry's eyes flickered. He was about to speak, but Zoey wrapped her arm around him, pretending to be shocked, and pointed at me.

"Samantha, I don't remember your family staying in Slarqia. Are you lying about your mom so that you can follow us?" she asked.

Harry looked at me, suspicion replacing the guilt that had been on his face. Then, his expression twisted into disgust. "Samantha, you lie without batting an eye. That phony front of yours is revolting!"

Zoey raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "Exactly, Samantha. Even if you wanted to tag along, you shouldn't have dragged your mom into this!"

Livid, I swung my hand and slapped her across the face.

Zoey clutched her cheek, her eyes wide with disbelief, then burst into tears. "Samantha, I'm sorry! Don't hit me! I'll never touch your money again!"

Colleagues nearby were drawn over by her crying. Seeing what was happening, they all rushed to defend her.

"Ms. Lane, if you're unhappy with us coming, just say so. There's no reason to give Zoey a hard time."

"You're the worst kind of boss, looking down on us like we're nothing!"

Zoey buried her face in her hands, tears streaming down her cheeks.

The others' fury kept mounting, and before I knew it, someone had thrown the first punch.

Outnumbered, I had no choice but to keep backing up, retreating all the way into a luxury boutique. Suddenly, someone shoved me hard. I stumbled into a display and knocked over a decorative item.

Harry didn't flinch. He stared at me coldly and said, "People like her need to be taught a lesson."

I caught the hostility in his voice and struggled, trying to break through the crowd and run.

The others weren't letting up. They grabbed items from nearby counters and hurled them at me.

Seeing the situation, the store manager rushed over and shouted, "Stop! You'll pay for everything that's already broken or about to break!"

Zoey smirked and responded, "Don't worry about it. We can afford to pay for the damage."

The staff quickly tallied the damage, and the total came to 12 million dollars.

Harry looked completely unconcerned. "Zoey, swipe the card."

Zoey pulled out the corporate credit card smugly and swiped it. However, a cold, robotic voice rang out from the machine. "Payment declined. Insufficient balance."