: You're Fired

3

I looked at the closed door. Joyce Thorne must have realized her one-woman show wasn't working, so she called for backup.

"It's just a chicken leg. Do the two sisters really need to be so petty? Especially Julie, she's the older sister. Can't she just let her little sister have it?"

I leisurely sipped my tea before speaking. "I'm planning to make an investment recently. As it happens, your brother's company has a pretty good project, so I invested $7 million in it."

"What!"

He immediately grew anxious on the other end of the line. "Don't you know my company needs money too? I'm on this business trip specifically to secure funding! How could you invest our money elsewhere?"

"It's only $7 million. Do you two brothers really need to be so petty? Especially you, you're the older brother. Can't you just let your little brother have it?"

I threw his own words right back at him. The other end of the line fell silent.

"It's not scarcity that people resent, but inequality. They are both my children. Why should one sister get something the other can't have? Over time, what do you think Julie will feel?"

I was about to say more when I suddenly looked up and saw the reflection of Melody Hale standing behind me in the glass.

"Let's leave it at that for now. Come back soon. There's something I need to talk to you about."

After hanging up, Melody Hale walked in cautiously.

"Madam, I've prepared the list."

She handed me a printed spreadsheet.

I had to admit, Melody Hale was very good in some respects. The spreadsheet she made was clear and easy to understand.

"You're so capable. Being a nanny in our home is a bit of a waste of your talents."

Hearing this, Melody Hale immediately broke into a smile.

But the next second, I continued, "You're so outstanding, you could shine anywhere. So you don't need to stay in our home any longer."

"Madam, what do you mean? Why are you firing me out of the blue?"

"Let's not even talk about how you can't even get the portions right when you cook. Before you came here, the housekeeping agency should have trained you. Don't you know about protecting your employer's privacy? You're so good at making short videos, it's a real shame you're not a full-time influencer."

Melody Hale's face went pale. She probably never expected that I would know she was filming videos to make extra money on the side.

After all, in my past life, I only found out about it many years later.

Melody Hale shared her daily life online, her selling point being what it's like to be a nanny for a wealthy family.

She frequently filmed the inside of my home and even snuck into my bedroom to shoot videos several times when I wasn't there.

Because of the luxurious environment and easy work, she attracted the envy of a large number of netizens.

So, she leveraged her online traffic to start live-streaming and selling products.

She completely forgot about the privacy agreement I had her sign when we made the contract.

But I didn't have a habit of scrolling through short-form videos, so I never discovered it.

"I will give you severance pay. You can pack your things and leave my house."

Melody Hale looked at me in terror, tears instantly welling up in her eyes.

"Madam, you know my family's situation. By doing this, you're trying to kill me."

: Naturally Bad Seed

4

I couldn't understand her thought process. First of all, what did her family's situation have to do with me?

I thought I treated her quite well, paying her $5,000 a month and covering her room and board.

Because she said she was preparing for the graduate entrance exams, I even asked a friend to get her some practice questions.

But I never saw her studying. Instead, I saw her putting her energy into other things.

I didn't want to waste any more words on her. I told her to take care of herself and turned to leave.

Over the next few days, Melody Hale kept pleading with me.

She'd either say she still wanted to study or talk about how difficult her life back home was.

She even incited my younger daughter to come and plead with me on her behalf.

"Mom, why are you being so hard on Auntie Hale?"

To be honest, I didn't understand my younger daughter's way of thinking either.

She could seemingly empathize with anyone and everyone, except for her own family.

At first, I just thought she simply disliked me. But something that happened a few days later completely changed my mind.

It also made me realize what it means to be a born-bad seed.

One day, while I was in a meeting at work, I got a call from a teacher. She said Julia Thorne had gotten into a conflict with a classmate and stolen something, and that I needed to come to the school.

I was stunned by the news.

After all, my older daughter had always been so well-behaved and sensible. How could she possibly do something like that?

I arrived at the school and was led to an office by the teacher.

Inside the office were a sobbing girl and her parent.

The parent, with a cold expression, told her child to repeat what she had just said.

The little girl began, sobbing, "I thought my mom's necklace was pretty, so I brought it to school. Then I got into a fight with Julia Thorne, and then Julia Thorne stole my necklace."

I was completely confused. The parent quickly added, "I just spoke with the teacher and other students to understand the situation. It was really just a childish squabble. My daughter was being naughty and your daughter wrote her name down. My daughter got upset and, in front of the other students, said that Julia Thorne didn't deserve to be Class President."

"We were the ones in the wrong for that, and we should apologize. But little Julia Thorne can't be stealing things! She's so young. If she develops a bad habit like this now, what will become of her in the future?"

Before I could even say a word, my daughter had been labeled a thief. She was hiding behind me now, shaking her head frantically.

"Mom, I really didn't steal anything! I don't know how that necklace got into my desk."

I stroked my daughter's head and asked the teacher to check the surveillance footage.

The teacher immediately looked troubled. "All the other students saw the necklace being found in Julia Thorne's desk."

"So, did any student actually see Julie take it? I need to see the surveillance footage. If she took it, I will pay ten times its value in compensation and apologize publicly."

Seeing my firm attitude, the teacher finally pulled up the classroom's surveillance footage.

It happened during the long break between classes. All the students had left the classroom for exercises, and the room was empty.

About five minutes later, a person walked into the classroom. After making sure no one was around, they rummaged through one of the desks for a long time, finally found a necklace, and then stuffed it into Julia Thorne's desk.

After doing all this, she nodded in satisfaction and glanced inadvertently at the camera, revealing a familiar face.

At that moment, the little girl whose necklace had been stolen immediately pointed her out. "It's Joyce Thorne! I told her I brought my necklace! She's Julia Thorne's little sister!"