Right before the call connected, Violet finally cracked. She lunged forward and grabbed my hand, panic flashing across her face.

Everyone around us froze, watching closely. Someone even whispered that she was scared.

I looked at her with a faint, knowing smile.

Violet quickly pulled out her phone and shoved a screenshot of a schedule in my face.

"Mr. Neel's in a critical meeting right now," she snapped. "If you mess up this deal, can you take responsibility for it?"

Jim snatched the phone and turned it toward the crowd, raising his voice like he was putting on a show.

"This kind of private schedule isn't something just anyone can get," he said. "Who else but family would have access? You say you're the real heiress? Then prove it! Stop pretending, you shameless fake!"

Everyone lit up as if they had just been handed proof, excitement buzzing through the room.

I just watched, calm and silent.

This was exactly what I had been pushing for. I wanted Violet to show her hand.

Jim had it wrong. Not only could the family get their hands on the itinerary. The only other person who could…was the driver.

My father's driver was a distant relative from his hometown. He had the same last name, Neel. Violet was his daughter. That driver used to take me to school every day before I left the country.

No wonder Violet looked familiar the moment I saw her.

Of course, no one else here knew any of that. To them, it looked like I had just been exposed.

The crowd shifted completely to Violet's side.

"She's got some nerve, showing up at Neel Corporation with a lie like that! I bet she's been pretending to be the heiress outside, too."

"We had to go through three rounds of interviews to get in here. She shows up out of nowhere and lands a manager role? Please! She probably slept her way in through Piers."

"You're a fraud, a nepotism hire! Get out of Neel Corporation!"

Someone even splashed a cup of hot coffee at me.

The heat hit my skin instantly, sharp enough to make me flinch. It dripped down from my hair, soaking into my white blouse, the fabric clinging just enough to show the faint outline of what was underneath.

I turned toward my office, planning to grab a spare outfit.

Jim moved faster. He rushed in ahead of me and started throwing my things out into the hallway.

Most of it, I didn't care about.

Except for the antique ornament my father had bought at auction for millions. It hit the ground at my feet and shattered into pieces.

I slowly lifted my eyes to Jim. "You'd better be ready to answer for that. That's not something you can afford to replace."

Jim kicked the fragments aside like they were trash, then stepped closer, jabbing a finger into my chest again and again.

"A fake like you thinks she can act tough in front of me? You've already been kicked out of Neel Corporation by Violet. This office is mine now! I can deal with whatever trash is in here. That includes you."

He stressed the word "trash", his tone dripping with contempt.

"But before you get out, you're paying for my bag. One million."

A wave of sharp breaths swept through the crowd. Even Violet frowned slightly.

"Jim, forget it," she said. "If you like it that much, I'll buy you another one."

"Violet, you're being too nice," he shot back. "She'll just think we're easy to push around. That bag was your anniversary gift to me. It's brand new, limited edition, and made of rare leather. I barely even use it. What she did wasn't just throwing a bag; she was stepping all over what we have, trying to humiliate me. You're really okay with that?"

As he spoke, his expression turned strangely dramatic, almost wounded. It was enough to make my stomach turn.

And somehow, Violet bought it.

She hesitated for a second, then nodded, signaling security to shut the floor doors, as if she was afraid I would run.

I glanced at the obviously fake bag on the floor.

Calling it cheap would be generous.

A million dollars? I wouldn't even pay a hundred for it.

My silence made Jim think I had finally cracked. He started patting my face, one slap after another, smug as ever.

"Scared now?" he sneered. "A fake like you could empty out your whole family savings and still not come up with a million."

I swung back without warning. The slap landed hard, leaving a sharp red imprint of my fingers across his face.

"A million is nothing," I said flatly. "You like bags that much? Fine. I'll get you ten."

Jim's expression darkened.

I pulled out my phone and called the store manager. They agreed without hesitation and said the items would be delivered in ten minutes.

The moment they heard that, people started laughing.

"With a brain like that, she's really calling herself an heiress?" someone mocked. "Doesn't she know that boutique runs on waitlists? Ten minutes? You'd be lucky to get one in a month!"

"She really thinks she's something. Ten bags? Even a whole truck of knockoffs wouldn't match one of Jim's accessories."

I couldn't help thinking how one rotten person could ruin the whole place.

Violet had no shame, and the people she surrounded herself with were no better.

Violet dragged over a chair and sat right in front of me, like she had front row seats to a show she was certain I would lose.

Jim stepped closer, grabbing my chin and tilting my face up. The look in his eyes made my skin crawl.

"You're quite pretty. Too bad you had to pull something like this. You picked the wrong person to mess with. If you can't pay, don't push it. Take off a piece of clothing, and I'll give you a 100-grand discount per item. I'm being generous."

I snatched a pen off the desk and drove it straight toward his eye.

At the last second, I stopped.

The tip hovered just short of contact.

Jim stumbled back in panic, cursing under his breath, calling me insane.

I lowered the pen slowly, my gaze sharp enough to cut.

"Ten minutes isn't up yet," I said. "No one touches me. Since we're waiting, maybe we should talk about my losses."

I bent down, picking up the shattered pieces of the antique ornament and setting them carefully on the desk. A faint smile tugged at my lips, but it didn't reach my eyes.

"This thing doesn't have a brand name. It's not new either, but it is rare. So how exactly are you planning to pay for it?"

Jim and his group burst into laughter again.

"She's lost it. That broken junk's worth what, 20 bucks? You could buy a pile of those online."

"And it's ugly, too. Putting that on a desk just drags down the whole company's taste. How embarrassing!"

I ignored them completely and looked straight at Violet.

"Ms. Neel, you still have time to admit you're wrong. Otherwise, when this blows up in your face, it's going to hurt."

Violet clearly believed I was just like her, another fake trying to bluff her way through. She lazily pulled out a black card and flicked it onto the desk in front of me.

"Name your price."

A gasp rippled through the crowd.

"That's the unlimited black card, right? If Violet's not the real heiress, I'll eat my own words."

Jim leaned back, crossing his legs, looking completely satisfied.

"That's Mr. Neel's secondary card," he said proudly. "It's more than enough to cover your worthless junk."

I took one look at it and almost laughed.

That was the card my father had shoved into my hand before I left the country. I had never used it and just tossed it in a drawer.

So Violet had been using it this whole time.

I kept my expression neutral as I picked up the card, clicking my tongue softly.

"That ornament might look old, but it's still an antique. There's even an auction tag on it. Didn't you notice?"

"Yeah, right," Jim scoffed. "My underwear has a tag, too. Guess that makes it an antique."

He didn't take the hint at all. Instead, he grabbed my clothes, trying to pull at the fabric.

"All that talk, and you're just after money in the end. Quit stalling. Start taking it off. Maybe if the guys here enjoy the show, they might toss you a few bucks to help you pay for the bag."

I struggled hard, but it only seemed to excite him more. His grip got rougher and more aggressive.

Violet just sat there and watched, not even pretending to stop him.

Laughter and crude comments closed in from all sides, drowning me.

Right when it felt like there was no way out, Piers's sharp, commanding voice cut through the noise.

"Stop!"

The room went dead quiet.

People instinctively stepped aside, clearing a path. Even Violet stood up straight from her chair.

"Piers, perfect timing!" Jim hurried over, eager to take credit. "There's a fraud here pretending to be the chairman's daughter. I was just about to have her removed."

Piers didn't even glance at him.

He walked straight to me, took off his jacket, and draped it over my shoulders. There was guilt written all over his face.

"Sorry, I'm late."

For someone as decisive and hard as Piers, that kind of tone was rare.

A dozen looks flickered between us, full of speculation.

Violet's voice turned sharp, laced with sarcasm.

"Piers, even if she's with you, anyone joining Neel Corporation still has to go through proper hiring procedures. As head of HR, I have the authority to suspend her position. I'm sure you don't have a problem with that."

The corner of my mouth lifted slightly.

These two idiots picked a fight with the wrong person and still thought I was just Piers's side piece.

Piers shot her an annoyed look and flung a document straight at her.

"Take a good look," he said coldly. "This appointment was signed by Mr. Neel himself. Are you questioning his decision?"

The pressure in his voice hit the room like a weight. No one dared speak.

Violet hesitated, clearly unwilling to back down. Something hardened in her expression as she stepped forward again.

"But she impersonated the heiress and disrespected her coworkers. If we don't make an example out of her…"

Piers glanced at me, waiting.

He knew I had asked him to keep my identity quiet.

I let out a slow, deliberate breath.

"So this is the kind of people you've been bringing in?"

Piers's face darkened instantly. The temperature in the room seemed to drop with it. His gaze locked onto Violet.

"Effective immediately, you're fired."

He didn't stop there.

"Anyone involved in this mess, HR will document every name. We're doing a full internal review."

A wave of sharp inhales swept through the crowd.

Violet's eyes widened, disbelief written all over her face.

"Why?!" she demanded. "She's the one pretending!"

"Pretending?" Piers's voice cut clean through hers. "She is the chairman's only daughter, the real heiress of Neel Corporation, Riley Franklin!"

He looked down at Violet, each word deliberate.

"Do you really think she needs to pretend?"

The words hit like a thunderclap.

The room erupted.

"What? Violet's the fake? I can't believe she accused someone else just to cover her own tracks!"

"I knew it! Ms. Franklin came right out and said who she was. That's real confidence."

"For two years, Violet's been using the Neel name to take advantage of people. She'd better pay it all back!"

All the color drained from Violet's face as she staggered and nearly collapsed to the floor. She stared at me as if she couldn't process what she was seeing.

Jim grabbed her shoulders hard, his face twisting with anger. "You lied to me?"

Violet couldn't even answer. She just looked at him, desperate, begging silently for forgiveness.

He shoved her away.

Then he turned to me, all the arrogance gone.

"Ms. Franklin, this was all a misunderstanding. I didn't realize who you were. Please don't hold it against me."

I let out a short laugh. Guess he knew how to play it both ways.

"Misunderstanding?" I said. "This isn't just a misunderstanding. There's still the matter of compensation."

I didn't give him a chance to respond.

I lifted my wrist, eyes on the ticking second hand, and started counting down.

"Ten. Nine. Eight… One."

Right as I finished, the office doors opened again.