Well, if that was the case, then I did not mind settling this score with the Stanford Family once and for all.

Meanwhile, Anne was still laughing, doubling over as she smoothed the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.

"This is the funniest joke I've ever heard!" she sneered.

I could not be bothered to waste another word on them. Without another glance, I picked up my bag and walked out.

However, just as I was about to leave, two employees suddenly got up and locked the conference room door.

They stood in front of it like a pair of stone-faced sentries.

I narrowed my eyes and spoke coldly, "What's the meaning of this?"

Anne finally finished laughing and strutted toward me in her high heels.

She crossed her arms, giving me a slow, condescending once-over. "Nicole, do you really think this company is your home? Coming and going whenever you please? There's a process for dismissal."

I lifted my gaze, unfazed. "I don't need to go through any process."

Anne's sharp nails dragged across my bag, scratching it twice as she smirked.

"Whether you need to or not isn't up to you."

"Open your bag. We need to check if you're taking company property. If you are, that's theft."

Before I could respond, she added with faux concern, "All of our projects involve highly classified information. If anything gets taken or recorded, the company could suffer major losses."

She flashed me a malicious smile. "Just standard procedure. Don't take it personally."

At her signal, two more employees stepped forward, closing in on me. I watched them with an unreadable expression.

At this moment, I was starting to think I'd been far too patient all this time.

My grandfather and father always taught me to be kind and to avoid unnecessary conflict.

Having grown up abroad, the last thing I ever wanted was to wield my status to suppress others. But in reality, all that ever did was give people like Anne the audacity to overstep.

"Anne, have you considered the consequences of this?"

She did not answer. Instead, she grabbed my bag and overturned its contents onto the floor for everyone to see.

"I'm a reliable assistant in this company. I enforce company policies and carry out Mr. Stanford's orders. What consequences could I possibly face?"

Anne nudged my scattered belongings with the tip of her shoe, casually kicking them aside before raising an eyebrow.

"Just because your bag is empty doesn't mean you don't have anything on you."

"Search her."

At her command, the employees in the conference room perked up, watching like they were being treated to a live spectacle.

Someone even let out a low whistle.

I frowned as the two employees guarding the door started moving toward me. So, I slapped their reaching hands away.

Then, I yelled with a cold tone, "Don't cross the line!"

"What right do you have to search me?"

All the tension in my body vanished in an instant.

The composed, soft-spoken version of me was nowhere to be found.

The sudden shift unsettled them. They hesitated, looking unsure of what to do next. Still, Anne scoffed and pushed past them.

"Nicole, who are you trying to intimidate?"

Anne paused, locking eyes with me before sneering. "Are you planning to use your status as the CEO's wife to suppress us?"

"Well, you can forget it, Mrs. President, because that's a title you'll never have."

"I'll spell it out for you. Mr. Stanford has been sick of you for a long time. He never liked you. A man like him deserves a woman who is a thousand times more accomplished, more perfect than you."

"In his eyes, you're not even worth as much as the company's janitor."

Anne's triumphant expression only confirmed what I had already suspected.

Leonard had someone else. And it was not Anne Savoy.

She was a capable assistant, but she had no financial backing.

With Leonard's current status, if he were to replace me with someone else, it would have to bring him immense benefits.

Unfortunately, he was being naïve since no one in this company could surpass me.

Seeing me lower my eyes in silence, Anne assumed her words had struck a nerve. "What? Are you scared? It's a little late for that now, don't you think?"

"A housewife without her husband's support after a divorce, unable to survive on her own… what a bleak future that must be."

Her words suddenly piqued my interest.

From the smug look on her face, she seemed quite pleased with Leonard's new choice.

That only made me more curious… who exactly was this so-called ‘successful woman'?

Anne would not have gone after me so aggressively unless someone had instructed her to. Was this person hoping I would step aside willingly and hand over my position?

If that was the plan, they should have considered whether the Stanford Family would agree to it first…

Watching her arrogant smirk, I remained expressionless as I said, "Anne, Leonard hasn't even divorced me yet, and here you are, popping champagne at halftime. Don't end up embarrassing yourself instead."

"Ha! Nicole, don't be so shameless. Just cooperate with the search and leave the company as soon as possible. Otherwise, once Mr. Stanford arrives, you'll only make a bigger fool of yourself."

She folded her arms, her expression sharp. "Search her!"

"Who dares?" I snapped.

"What's the problem with that?" A familiar voice came from the doorway.

The conference room fell into silence as everyone instinctively stood up.

"Mr. Stanford is here. Let's see how long she can keep up the act."

"Act? Please, everyone in the company knows Mr. Stanford never cared about her. It was only a matter of time before she got thrown away."

"She's just a pretty face, and it's easily replaceable. She's nothing compared to that one."

Leonard strode in, tall and polished, his neatly styled hair glinting under the lights.

His hands were tucked casually into his pockets as he walked into the room.

Anne glanced at him, then quickly took a step back, smiling as she made way for him.

He stopped in front of me, his voice completely devoid of warmth.

"Nicole, name your terms. Whatever you want for the divorce."

"Leonard, you want a divorce? Does your grandfather know anything about this?"

Nelson understood my value to the Stanford Family more than anyone.

If they wanted to discard me like a useless pawn, they first had to ensure they had the means to do so.

Leonard sneered. "Nicole, stop using Grandpa as leverage every time. I've been more than filial. I married you and supported you all these years. That should be enough."

"I can give you money. Enough to last a lifetime. Just agree to the divorce."

A faint smile tugged at my lips.

"Money isn't the issue, Leonard. You think replacing me will help you climb higher, but how can you be so sure she'll be your golden ticket?"

He mistook my words for jealousy, assuming I still cared about this marriage, about his betrayal. That thought put him in an even better mood.

"What's the point of arguing, Nicole? Even if you can't live without me, I am getting a divorce."

"With her status, she'll be the key to making me even more powerful. The Stanford Family will jump to an entirely new level!"

"So let's make this easy. Just sign the papers while I'm still patient."

I smoothed the fabric of my dress, unhurried.

"Leonard, if you divorce me, you'll lose everything you have."

"Including these people here… they won't even have jobs left."

Laughter erupted from Leonard and Anne as if I had just told the most ridiculous joke they had ever heard.

He leaned back in his chair, legs crossed, smirking. "All right, all right, you're so powerful."

"If you agree to the divorce, I'll just sit back and watch myself lose everything, okay?"

Whispers filled the conference room as they thought that I really lost it and started talking nonsense.

"This is why women should be independent. Look at her, just the mention of separation, and she's already falling apart."

"I never liked her, and now she's blaming us for losing our jobs? Our salaries come from Mr. Stanford, not her."

"She's still acting tough, but inside, she must be falling apart."

Their voices reached my ears, each word dripping with ridicule. I took a deep breath and calmed myself.

This was the price of being too tolerant.

The mutual respect and kindness my father always talked about depended entirely on the person. Birds of a feather flock together, and the people under Leonard were no different from him.

A listed company? If you ask me, it was taken public too soon.

I reached for my phone, intending to make a call.

However, before my fingers could even touch the screen, Anne suddenly slapped it out of my hand.

"We haven't even searched you yet. What are you doing with your phone? Trying to leak company secrets?"

I felt my patience snap, little by little. Since childhood, I had never been subjected to such humiliation.

At first, I had tolerated it. They did not know any better, and for me, ignorance was not a crime. I did not even bother to take these people seriously.

But now, they were deliberately overstepping, shoving their arrogance in my face. And that was something an apology would not fix.

"Anne, if you're acting under Leonard's orders, following the instructions of the woman behind him, I won't blame you."

"But before you go any further, you should stop and consider, are you truly prepared to deal with the consequences?"

I swept my gaze across the room, letting it linger on each and every person. The same warning applied to them.

Leonard sneered again upon my warning. "Unbelievable. Even now, you're still trying to threaten my people?"

Anne let out a scornful laugh, waving her hand dismissively. "Enough nonsense. Search her!"

My expression turned icy in an instant. I had tolerated enough. These people needed to be taught a lesson.

Just as I was about to act, a woman's voice rang out. "Leonard, why are you making such an unsightly scene in front of everyone? This is hardly fitting for someone of your status."

With the rhythmic clatter of high heels against the floor, a woman who appeared to be a few years older than me stepped gracefully into the conference room.

Dressed in a sleek, form-fitting red dress that accentuated her curves, she approached Leonard with an air of effortless confidence.

She folded her arms in front of me and lifted her chin slightly. "Nicole, I heard you think I can't be Leonard's stepping stone to success?"