I had no interest in staying at the office any longer than necessary. A one-week suspension felt like a paid vacation.

What I did not expect was a call from Vincent two days in. He sounded frantic the moment I picked up. "Lina, get back to the office. Something's gone seriously wrong!"

I had seen this coming. My voice stayed even. "What happened?"

He spoke quickly, tripping over his words, but within a minute I understood.

It was exactly as I had predicted. Sophia had no real familiarity with the algorithm. She had tried to integrate it several times and failed each time. It would not adapt under her handling.

Instead of stopping there, she decided she knew better and altered the core parameters herself. The result was a complete system crash across the new product line.

I tried hard not to laugh. Failing to adapt the algorithm was one thing. But rewriting base code without understanding it? What had she been thinking?

Vincent's voice dropped low over the phone. "Babe, what happened before was on me. I didn't have a choice. The whole team was watching. Just come back and take a look. Please. Do it for me."

So now he remembered how to be sweet. Unfortunately, it did not work.

"Vincent, have you forgotten I'm still on suspension? If I walk in right now, I'd be breaking company policy," I said.

"Forget the policy. The project matters more. I'm revoking every penalty right now. Just come back," Vincent urged.

"That's a shame. I had so much free time during the suspension that I booked a trip," I drawled. "I'm abroad right now. I just landed. I can't get back anytime soon."

Silence stretched on the other end before he spoke again. "Lina, stop messing around. The company genuinely can't function without you."

"I'm not messing around. You put Sophia in charge of the project, so let her fix it," I shot back. "If she can't, the timeline slips. When I finish traveling and I'm in a better mood, I'll come back."

I hung up before he could respond and switched my phone to Do Not Disturb.

Just like that, I enjoyed my trip without a second thought.

…

A week passed, but I still did not go back.

I prolonged it deliberately. One day, bad weather canceled my flight. Next, I felt unwell and needed a few more days. Then an old classmate reached out and wanted to meet.

At first, Vincent called constantly and pushed me to return.

After a while, he realized I was delaying on purpose and stopped pressing. He changed tactics, sending careful messages in a softer tone, trying to keep me from cutting ties with the company entirely.

A colleague told me that the entire project had stalled because of what Sophia had done. In a few days, the investor's team would send someone to review progress.

Sophia busied herself preparing explanations and rallying people to manage the visit.

Unfortunately for her, it would not matter how well she prepared. That investor was my brother. I knew exactly how he operated.

…

As expected, Leo's call came a few days later.

"Lina, why did the project lead change? Are you not running it anymore?" he asked.

"I was suspended," I said.

I walked him through everything that had happened in that meeting.

By the time I finished, he was furious. "That ungrateful little… After everything you've given his company, this is how he repays you?

"And that Sophia. She doesn't know what she's doing. I could tell in yesterday's meeting that she wasn't focused on the project at all. She spent the whole meeting throwing herself at me. That kind of person has bad intentions written all over her."

He grew more agitated by the second, so I ended up calming him down. "Don't get upset. Think of it as me sharpening myself in the real world. And honestly, it's a good thing he showed me who he really is now. We haven't made it to marriage yet. It's not too late."

Leo let out a long breath and asked whether he should pull the investment entirely.

I told him to wait. The time to spring the trap had not come yet. My lawyer was still building the case and gathering evidence. When everything was in place, I wanted to make sure they had no way back.

Leo agreed without hesitation. "The family is always behind you. No matter what happens, you don't have to be afraid."

I stayed abroad for a full month, and the project stalled with me.

When Vincent finally saw me walk back in, the relief on his face was almost embarrassing.

I ran a quick check on the algorithm Sophia had tampered with, along with the crashed system program.

"She changed too much. The entire system needs to be recalibrated from scratch. A full fix will take time. A month at the earliest," I concluded.

"But the investor's team is coming to review progress today." Vincent began pacing in his office. "Here's what we'll do. Lina, come to the meeting with us. Tell them you're still the lead on the project, that everything goes through you. That works, right?"

Sophia hurried over and took my hand. "Lina, I know you can handle it. He wasn't happy with me last time, and he specifically asked for you. You know him so well. You even know what he likes to eat. Of course he has a soft spot for you."

Vincent's brow furrowed. "Sophia, what exactly are you implying?"

"Oh, Mr. Stark, you don't know?" She widened her eyes in mock surprise. "Lina put together a whole list of the investor's preferences and habits. She even shared it with me. She must have gotten pretty close to him to know all that."

She pitched her voice loud enough for the entire office to hear, and the room responded.

"So the rumors were true? The VP really secured the investment by… you know."

"Does this mean that Mr. Stark has been played this whole time? That's brutal."

"Honestly, it's a skill. Some people don't even have that going for them. Some of us just have to show up and work."

Sophia had clearly spent my absence spreading stories about me.

I did not particularly care, but Vincent's expression darkened. "Lina, I'll address this with you later. Go get ready to receive our guests."

Fine by me. Better that he did not ask.

When my brother arrived, I followed the group into the meeting room.

Vincent greeted him with a wide, practiced smile. "Mr. Leo, Sophia was only filling in temporarily. Now that Lina is back, she has full authority over the project, as always. Everything moving forward will be in her hands. We'll make sure the timeline gets back on track without further delays."

I sat off to the side, relaxed, and did not bother with greetings.

Vincent noticed. He leaned toward me and hissed under his breath. "Lina. Say hello. Show some respect."

Sophia stood nearby, dressed for the occasion in a fitted dress, practically fluttering her eyelashes at my brother. "Sir, Lina has always been a little standoffish. Please don't take it personally."

I found the whole scene almost funny. Every calculated move she made showed plainly on her face.

Leo did not spare her a glance. He placed a document on the table. "I'm here to discuss terminating the contract.

"Your company failed to meet the agreed-upon project milestones. You also changed project leadership mid-contract without authorization, which directly violates our terms. Effective today, we are formally ending our partnership."

The color drained from Vincent's face. "Why? We've already put Lina back in charge, just like you wanted."

Leo's voice remained cold. "Changing the lead without notice was already a problem. Then someone rewrote the core algorithm, and now a product that was already in testing is completely broken. How am I supposed to trust this company?"

"But Lina is back now. You know what she's capable of. She'll get the timeline back on track. I guarantee it," Vincent insisted.

"Let me ask you something. Do you know that using someone else's patented technology without authorization is a serious legal offense?" Leo asked gravely.

That stopped both Vincent and Sophia cold.

Vincent stood there for a long moment before he spoke. "What are you talking about? Everything we use consists of proprietary company assets. There's no risk of infringement."

I had no interest in playing along any longer. I reached into my bag and set the patent certificate on the table. My name was printed on it, clear as day.

Then I spoke. "Vincent, when you asked to borrow that algorithm, I'm guessing you had no idea I had already filed for a patent.

"Exclusive ownership of this algorithm belongs to me personally. I have never signed any licensing agreement with this company.

"What you've been doing constitutes serious patent infringement. Effective immediately, I am filing a lawsuit."