The company holds a management meeting. My wife's secretary, Lisa Carter, is checking IDs at the conference room entrance.

She greets everyone who enters with a warm smile. But when it is my turn, she lets out a scornful laugh.

I frown and pull out my Cybersecurity Department Manager's ID, but she doesn't even glance at it.

"Mr. Torres, Ms. Shaw took pity on you and made you a manager. Do you really think you're somebody important?"

I ignore her and dial the CEO's direct line instead.

"Someone's saying my position is just charity from you. Is it true?"

"It's just a small matter. Don't worry about it. I'm busy, so I'll hang up now."

Wendy Shaw's tone was cold and distant, though I could tell she was rushing over here.

Her secretary, Lisa Carter, had obviously heard that line too. She rolled her eyes at me before finally letting me through.

I thought the initial unfair treatment had passed. But as soon as I entered the conference room, everyone inside avoided me like the plague.

Wherever I sat, someone would move to another seat within seconds. I raised an eyebrow but didn't take it to heart.

I had never been on good terms with them anyway. I was used to being talked about behind my back at the company, but I didn't care.

"Thank you, all, for attending this management meeting. Since Ms. Shaw hasn't arrived yet, I'll give a brief opening on her behalf."

Lisa, who'd blocked me earlier, began chairing the meeting. She started with the usual operational adjustments, position changes, and other matters.

I found it painfully dull and glanced at my phone a few times.

"Since the company's revenue this quarter has fallen by 3% compared to last quarter, the board believes cost-cutting is necessary."

When she said this, I noticed everyone was looking at me with barely concealed satisfaction, and I had no idea why.

Lisa turned to look at me. "Julian Torres, the Cybersecurity Department will be shut down. It hasn't brought in any profit for the company all these years, and you're the only person in it. Keeping a department in name only that contributes nothing is pointless, and it reflects badly on the company."

I finally understood why everyone was treating me so strangely today. The absurdity of it made me question her. "Are you serious? You're really shutting down my department?"

She let out a snort, as if I couldn't understand plain language.

A few colleagues took the opportunity to gang up on me.

"Come on, Julian. Isn't that clear enough?"

"If you can't accept it, maybe you should reflect on yourself. You've been playing on your phone since the meeting started."

"Disrespecting Ms. Carter is equivalent to disrespecting Ms. Shaw. You do know that, right?"

Hearing that, I was genuinely speechless.

"I was checking my phone to monitor the firewall in real time, making sure no virus could hit the company's core systems while I'm away. How on earth does that count as disrespecting Ms. Shaw?"

They didn't understand a thing, yet there they were, spouting nonsense. Seeing how I responded, they changed tactics again.

"What's the point of your monitoring? It's not like there are that many threats. We've never even heard of one."

"Exactly. You probably slack off in your office all day, and now you want to pretend you're working hard?"

"Drop the act. You're just doing this because Ms. Shaw is about to arrive."

I looked around at the open hostility directed at me and realized I had never fully understood just how many people looked down on me. The irony was that I was being mocked precisely because the company's system had never been breached.

The situation suddenly reminded me of a joke I'd seen online about a programmer who deliberately created bugs just so someone would call him to fix them, all to avoid looking idle. Somehow, the comparison felt uncomfortably accurate.

I realized that quietly doing the work without much fanfare clearly hadn't done me any favors. Since that was the case, there was no reason for me to keep being polite.

I slowly stood up and met each of their gazes.

"Without me, this company would have gone under long ago. Who do you think you are, bossing me around like that? Let me be clear—the Cybersecurity Department is the most important department in this company. Got it?"

At these words, Lisa's tone sharpened, dripping with mockery. "Who gave you the confidence to think you matter that much? Ms. Shaw? Julian, stop being naive."

I was about to respond when the conference room door swung open, and someone barked sharply, "That's enough!"

Wendy strode into the conference room in a custom-tailored suit and heels. The room fell silent the instant she entered.

Lisa hurriedly pulled out a chair for her, but Wendy didn't sit down right away. Instead, she walked straight up to me.

"Julian, stop scaring everyone with your doomsday talk. Your pretentious act only makes me feel disgusted!" she snapped.

I was momentarily stunned. I'd assumed her earlier call-out was directed at Lisa, but it turned out she was talking to me.

Before I could respond, Wendy continued, "I really regret letting you join this company. I still don't understand why Grandpa insisted on bringing in someone who's just a figurehead.

"Who do you think you are, acting so high and mighty? Do you really believe this company can't run without you?"

We'd been married for five years. Even if it was only in name, married couples were expected to keep up a veneer of harmony in public. Her relentless, humiliating criticism left me stunned, and my expression hardened.

Five years ago, her grandfather, Michael Shaw, had called in an old family favor to bring me into Shaw Group as head of the Cybersecurity Department.

I still recalled what Wendy said back then.

"The company is in a critical situation, Julian. Thank you for lending us a hand."

She had been extremely polite at the time. I could tell she'd just returned from studying abroad, and her youthful, fresh appearance made that clear.

Later, Michael personally encouraged a match between us, and I fell for her at first sight. Given my personality, no amount of money or persuasion could have convinced me to agree to an arranged marriage. My only intention was to help Michael, and that was it.

I had thought that even if Wendy didn't truly like me, she at least liked me enough to give the relationship a try. She had said it was just a trial period to see how things worked out, but that trial had lasted five years. Over time, she forgot all the unseen effort I had put in for her.

I looked at her cold, indifferent face and spoke firmly, "If you want to shut down the Cybersecurity Department, fine. But you need to get Mr. Shaw Senior's approval first. If he agrees, so will I.

"I joined this company because of the relationship between Michael and my grandfather, not because of anyone else here."

Wendy's expression faltered. After a long pause, she tried to put on a fierce front, though it didn't hide her unease.

"What? Are you using Grandpa to pressure me? Is throwing your weight around the only thing you know how to do? I don't even understand why he insisted you join the company. Now, all you do is sit around and contribute nothing."

I looked at her, and the person I had known back then was gone.

Several colleagues grew restless and began urging me to leave.

"Why aren't you leaving? Ms. Shaw has already spoken. You're a grown man, so stop digging in your heels."

"Why make such a scene? You could have ended this without drama."

"Julian, be a man about this and stop dragging it out."

Their sudden hostility puzzled me at first, but once I saw they were all on the same page, everything clicked. I vaguely remembered rumors that they were colluding to embezzle company funds.

The one who'd led the mockery earlier had approached me before. He had subtly probed me about whether I'd be willing to falsify data, but I'd refused him outright. I hadn't connected the dots then, but now it all made sense.

Apparently, that was when the company started alienating me and targeting me at every turn. It turned out it was all these troublemakers stirring things up all along.

And Wendy was still naively believing them. I had no idea what she'd actually learned during her time studying abroad.

I turned toward the person who'd just accused me of "digging in my heels". If I remembered correctly, his name was Zachary Cole. I was ready to call them out.

"Mr. Cole, just because I wouldn't help you with falsifying accounts or setting up shady websites, that's no reason to go all out against me.

"And Mr. Leon Howard, Mr. Victor Grant, you've all been so eager to get rid of me since the meeting started. Whose cake did my department happen to touch?"

When Zachary, Leon, and Victor heard that I was about to expose them, their expressions instantly tightened. But Wendy acted as if she hadn't heard a thing.

Zachary was the first to respond, his tone sharp but his eyes betraying his unease.

"What are you accusing me of without a single piece of proof? When did I ever even talk to you? Do you have any evidence?"

Wendy didn't acknowledge my warning at all, and her patience wore thin as she frowned.

"A loser like you dares to accuse our key contributors on your way out?"

I shot back, sneering, "Key contributors? Which of these people standing up right now is a key contributor?"

The remark made several faces in the room turn even darker.

I pressed on, "I don't think Mr. Craig Wilson can possibly afford that half-million-dollar watch. Didn't Mr. Grant just buy a waterfront condo in the city? And Mr. Howard only recently sent his kid off to study abroad, right?"

Victor slammed his hand on the table, his face contorted with anger. "You… You're making groundless accusations! I've been in this position since the company was founded. If I weren't loyal to this company, you wouldn't even be running that lousy cybersecurity department."

Leon stared at me coldly, still refusing to back down. "How dare you say that? I've devoted myself to this company for years. Everything I've earned is what I deserve, and I have a clear conscience."

As I watched them stubbornly deny everything, I scoffed.

Wendy had no idea that without me, Shaw Group would already have been plundered from within. The small portion they'd embezzled came from a loophole left by the previous programmer. I'd discovered and patched it ages ago.

Otherwise, a spoiled heiress like her wouldn't have to do a thing beyond signing off on deals. And yet there she was, daring to tell me to leave.

The company was plagued by external threats and internal corruption, yet she sat in the CEO's chair, completely oblivious to it all.

Setting aside the past five years, I faced multiple cyberattacks from rival companies in the last six months alone. I blocked every single one and submitted reports to her, but she never paid attention.

Wendy once told me I only needed to serve as the company mascot. But because I'd made a promise to Michael, I'd poured my expertise into writing code for the company.

On one hand, I was repaying his kindness. Now that Michael's health was failing and he no longer involved himself in business matters, Wendy had dropped the act. Did she think she could control Shaw Group however she pleased?

My fists clenched until my knuckles cracked. After a long moment, I locked eyes with Wendy and said, "I'm going to ask you one question. Are you absolutely certain you want me to leave?"

Wendy seemed caught off guard by the way I was looking at her, and it took her a moment to collect herself.

"Yes."

Hearing that, I lost any desire to warn her further. I knew she would face the consequences eventually.

The other executives continued clamoring for me to leave, while Wendy made no effort to hide her disgust.

"Julian, I suggest you leave on your own. The company doesn't need people like you who collect a paycheck without doing any work. And don't you dare complain to my grandpa. If you do, I'll despise you forever."