I replied, "She said I took a kickback, and she's parading it across the entire company."

Julio let out a sneer. "Asking for a kickback from my dad's farm? Has she completely lost her mind? Alright, I'll send you the footage right now. I've also got an audio recording of her trying to shake me down for a kickback that day."

I froze. "She asked you for a kickback?"

"Yeah. Right before the team-building ended, she cornered me in the back courtyard. She said if I didn't give her 20 thousand dollars, she'd drag her feet on settling the final balance."

…

Marilyn wasn't stopping. Next, she uploaded an audio clip into the group chat.

My voice came through loud and clear. "Keep this money. Don't let anyone else know. Thanks for the hard work, everyone."

Then came a man's voice. "Thank you, Ms. Gibson. I'm looking forward to working together again."

The chat exploded into complete chaos once more.

"Holy crap! She's caught on tape!"

"Sheryl is really disgusting. Acting all innocent and sweet, but she's incredibly greedy behind closed doors."

Ben was overjoyed. "People like this have to be fired! And we need to get that money back. That belongs to everyone!"

Listening to the clip, I just found it absurd.

That conversation happened on the final night of the trip, when I was handing out overtime bonuses to the farm's three helpers.

Ethan had been in high spirits that evening, so the party went well into the night.

He had pulled me aside and specifically told me to slip the staff some extra cash as a personal token of appreciation.

I did tell them not to let anyone else know, but only because I didn't want the rest of the staff to see it and feel slighted.

I never could have guessed that Marilyn would secretly record that moment, let alone twist it so maliciously out of context.

Gripping my phone, I typed my very first response in the group chat. "Marilyn, you claim the farm owner gave you this evidence. What's his last name again?"

Marilyn shot back within seconds. "Stark! Mr. Stark told me himself. Are you still trying to argue?"

I nearly laughed out loud.

Marilyn sent another message. "Mr. Stark is an old acquaintance of mine. He can't stand greedy people like you. He's already printed out all the bank transfer records. He'll be delivering them to the office shortly."

I replied, "Perfect. Why don't we all head down to the farm and clear this up face-to-face?"

Marilyn shot back with a dismissive emoji. "Who do you think you are? Mr. Stark doesn't have time to waste on you. Sheryl, if you return the cash and confess right now, maybe Mr. Keller will cut you some slack since you're a veteran employee."

The rest of the staff began jumping on the bandwagon.

"Just admit it, Sheryl. The evidence is ironclad."

"Exactly. Pay it back and pack your bags. Stop dragging the company's reputation through the mud."

I watched the once-familiar names on the screen, each one turning more detestable.

I had lost count of how many times I'd helped them out with their tedious chores.

Whenever Ben's reimbursement receipts were missing details, I was the one who fixed the paperwork for him.

When Lexi Clarke had family emergencies and couldn't get leave approved, I was the one who covered her shifts.

Now, just to suck up to Marilyn, they couldn't wait to step on my neck.

I tucked my phone away and glanced out the window.

The door to Ethan's office swung open.

His secretary walked out, her expression incredibly grim. "Sheryl, Mr. Keller wants to see you in his office."

As I walked through the open-plan office, Marilyn deliberately stuck her foot out to trip me.

I sidestepped her smoothly, throwing a cold glare her way.

She lifted her chin in defiance. "In you go. Better start rehearsing your farewell speech."

Ben chimed in from the sidelines, "Don't forget to take some tissues, Ms. Gibson. You'll need them to wipe away the tears in a minute."

I pushed open the door to Ethan's office.

Ethan was seated in his high-backed executive chair, his expression dark.

Laid out across his desk were a few printed screenshots—the exact ones Marilyn had leaked.

"Sheryl, explain this."

Ethan's voice was completely flat.

I stood straight, meeting his gaze with absolute calm.

"Mr. Keller, do you really think I'd be dense enough to skim kickbacks from a farm that you personally own?" I asked.

Ethan looked up, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes. "You knew that was my place?"

"I found out while putting the team-building trip together. When Julio was coordinating with me, he brought you up quite a few times."

Ethan let out a low snort. "That brat can't keep a secret to save his life."

He slid the printouts slightly closer to me. "Then what is all of this?"

"Marilyn fabricated them. She tried to force me to source from her cousin's company, and when I turned her down, she held a grudge."

I pulled up my phone, playing the video clips and audio recordings for Ethan to see.

The moment Ethan heard the recording of Marilyn threatening Julio, he slammed his palm onto the desk. "This is unbelievable! To think the finance department has bred such a toxic parasite!"

I said quietly, "Mr. Keller, she's currently planning to forward this fabricated evidence to HQ. She's even talking about doing a livestream."

Ethan calmed himself down, thinking for a brief moment. "If she wants to make a scene, let's let her blow it completely out of proportion. Go home and rest for a couple of days. I'll tell everyone you've been suspended."

I knew exactly what Ethan was getting at.

He was baiting the trap. He wanted to cut out all the dead weight in the company in one clean sweep.

"Understood, Mr. Keller."

As I stepped out of his office, I deliberately put on a thoroughly devastated expression.

Seeing this, Marilyn immediately began jeering at the top of her lungs. "Look, everyone! Sheryl just got suspended! That's exactly what you get when you're greedy for cash!"

She whipped out her phone and actually went live on a streaming app. "Hey, guys! Today, I'm giving you a front-row seat to some real corporate anti-corruption. Our administrative manager just got caught red-handed taking kickbacks!"

Keeping my head down, I quickly packed up my things and left the company.

Behind me, Marilyn's piercing laughter blended with the sneers of my colleagues.

…

Once I got home, I didn't waste any time.

First, I reached out to Julio. "Julio, send over the full footage of Marilyn shaking you down for that kickback. Make sure it's in full HD."

Julio worked fast. It hit my inbox in less than ten minutes.

In the video, Marilyn's face was horribly contorted as she pointed a finger right at Julio's nose, spitting threats.

Next, I reached out to a few friends in the tech community to trace the origins of Marilyn's screenshots.

Sure enough, she had paid for a shady online workshop specializing in forging documents and photos.

The transaction records showed she had spent 500 dollars requesting a transfer receipt that "showed the names clearly but kept the details blurry".

What shocked me most was that to make the whole thing look legitimate, Marilyn had actually transferred 50 thousand dollars out of the company's financial accounts.

She assumed that as long as she got me fired, the missing funds could simply be written off under the admin department's expenses.

She was absolutely blinded by her own greed.

Over the next two days, the company chat was a non-stop circus.

Marilyn went live every single day, boasting about how she had stood her ground against corporate corruption to expose the truth.

She had successfully packaged herself as a goddess of workplace justice.

There were even clueless netizens tipping her.

Ben tagged me in the group chat. "Sheryl, I thought you wanted to clear this up face-to-face. Why are you hiding at home like a coward? Are you busy laundering the money?"

I didn't reply. I just sat back and watched them put on their little show.

Marilyn even posted a celebration on her Instagram. "The cancer has been removed, and the air is finally clean! Barbecue tonight!"

Many colleagues liked the post.

I sneered. "Eat up, Marilyn. It might just be the last peaceful meal you ever have."

On the morning of the third day, my phone rang. It was Ethan. "Sheryl, come back to the office. Today is the quarterly business review. All of our business partners will be present. I'm going to settle this score for you in front of everyone."