I took out my phone and called Jonathan in front of Fiona.

"What's this? Who do you think you can call to help you pretend like you're some big shot, huh?" Fiona mocked.

The call kept ringing for ages before going unanswered. When I called again, it was rejected right after the very first ring.

I was fuming. Now that Jonathan was abroad, he wasn't even taking calls from his own mother, huh?

All along, he'd staunchly declared to me that women were a distraction and that he wanted to focus on the company, yet this was the situation we were in right now.

The way I saw it, the company was in such a mess because of him.

"Stop pretending." Fiona grabbed the termination notice and put it through the paper shredder. "Since you're not going to sign it, you can forget about getting the salary you're owed, too. Just pack your things and get the hell out of the office."

When I returned to the design department, everyone was quiet. The young employees who used to crowd around me, calling me their mentor, kept their heads down and their eyes focused on the screens in front of them.

They all acted like they were avoiding even the slightest association with me.

Such was the workplace. It was every man for themselves. What a chilling realization that was.

I went back to my desk to find that my once neatly organized design drafts were now tossed together in a messy pile. The ones on top were covered in large brown coffee stains, and even my drawing tablet had been tossed into the trash can next to my desk.

Sasha rolled over in her office chair with a mug of coffee in hand. She didn't even look pregnant yet, but she was acting like she was on the verge of giving birth.

"So sorry about that, Theresa." She pretended to apologize, but she had a smug smile on her face. "My hand slipped earlier, and the coffee spilled out before I even realized it."

What an absurd excuse. Our desks were over six feet apart. How did her coffee end up splattering on my desk?

"But since you're leaving anyway, we don't need to keep this pile of scrap paper around anymore, right?"

The pile of scrap paper she was referring to consisted of the original hand-drawn sketches for the Crest Park project. I'd spent an entire month on them.

Jonathan had previously told me that the project was extremely important to the company. But now, my work had been reduced to a bunch of soiled paper.

"Scrap paper, you say?" I picked up a soaked design sketch and looked at her. "Sasha, do you even understand the structural mechanics employed in this sketch? Do you know which ones are the load-bearing annotations?"

Sasha curled her lip and rolled away scornfully. "Why would I need to understand those things? All I need is Jonny. He said that I just need to look pretty and give him a cute baby. There are plenty of other people who'd line up to do the sketches and all those kinds of menial labor."

Low chuckles rang out from all around us. The other workers were laughing at me for not knowing my place—even the intern, Maisie Hill.

I'd taught her many design techniques. She was practically my mentee, and she certainly liked calling me her mentor in the past. But now, to suck up to Sasha, she mocked me as well.

"That's right, old lady. At your age, you should just go home and help out with your grandchildren. Oh, I heard your son doesn't even care about you. I guess you don't have any grandchildren to look after, either. Well, Sasha here is about to marry rich. She's going to live a life of luxury, you know."

Sasha beamed at the flattery. She pulled out some cash from her purse and casually tossed it onto my desk. "Here you go. Now hurry up, pack your things, and get lost. Stop being an eyesore. It reeks of old people here, and the smell is suffocating my baby."

I looked at the money, then at Sasha's smug face.

The anger inside me slowly settled. I couldn't be any clearer-headed than I was now.

Jonathan had really done it now. Thanks to him, the company was a mess, and I had to clean up after him.

Since these people thought I was just some hapless old lady, I decided to play along.

Bending down, I retrieved the drawing tablet from the trash can and dusted it off. Then, I drew a large X over the coffee-stained design sketches.

"Remember what you said today, Sasha," I said as I threw the pen into the trash. "These sketches are now ruined. No one besides me can handle the Crest Park project. Don't come crying to me later."

Sasha acted as if she'd just heard the funniest joke in the world. She laughed so hard she nearly spilled her coffee again.

"Come crying to you? Have you started developing dementia already, Theresa? I've got Jonathan and an elite team of designers at my beck and call. Why would I need you?" she declared before raising her voice.

"Security! Security! Toss this crazy old hag out of here now!"

The security guards rushed into the office. When they saw me, their gazes became conflicted. As it was, I'd always been courteous and friendly with them.

"Please don't make our jobs harder, Ms. Allen…"

I didn't let them haul me out. I picked up my handbag and walked off with my back straight.

Once I returned to the empty villa with no one else around, I tossed my handbag on the couch and turned on my computer.

I'd only just logged into the account I used for the company's communication platform when I was kicked out of the design department's channel.

Right after that, my phone buzzed. Maisie had sent me a video to gloat in my face.

"See this for yourself, old lady. Mr. Grady just sent Sasha a video to comfort her. Sasha was moved to tears. Mr. Grady dotes on her so much."

I clicked on the video.

The background was a dim hotel room somewhere abroad. Jonathan was in a bathrobe as he looked into the camera and said affectionately, "It's been hard on you, Sasha. Make sure you eat lots of good food for the sake of our baby.

"As for those insubordinate old employees, just fire them if you have to. Don't worry about needing my approval. Once I get home, we'll hold our wedding."

The voice was Jonathan's. The face was also Jonathan's. Even the slight lifting of the brow was something Jonathan frequently did.

Maisie also sent me screenshots of the other employees congratulating the company's group chat with well-wishes.

I watched the video three times. Even I, Jonathan's mother, thought it was really him in the video.

But was it truly him? Was he refusing my calls while sending these lovey-dovey videos to his girlfriend?

Somehow, it didn't add up to me. I'd always thought of Jonathan as the most responsible and dutiful son a mother could have, especially ever since his father died.

Since my calls weren't going through, I could only text him.

"You've got quite the nerve, you little brat! Not only did you knock up one of your employees, but you even hid it from me and refused to take my calls! Do you still even care about your mother?

"You turned the company into a complete mess! Is this how you run a business? If you can't give me a proper explanation, you can forget about being the CEO!"

This time, within minutes, Jonathan replied with a bunch of question marks. "What on earth are you talking about, Mom? Who did I knock up?"

I couldn't believe he was still trying to lie to me, so I forwarded the video Maisie sent me to him.

A few moments later, he texted back, saying, "That's not me, Mom."

He included a selfie of himself, unshaven and standing in front of a construction site wearing a hard hat. He looked completely worn out.

"This project I'm working on abroad is a closed-door project. There's barely any cell reception. Where would I find the time or the opportunity to flirt with someone? Besides, I already told you I don't want kids."

Now that I saw an entirely different version of Jonathan, a cold chill ran down my spine. What was going on?

I replayed the video from Maisie. Since I had no idea what to look for, I could only zoom in and examine each pixel in every frame.

Then, in the 8th frame of the 12th second, I saw Jonathan's finger passing right through the edge of a glass. That was a rendering error.

I also noticed the look in his eyes. The light that reflected in his pupils remained in a fixed position no matter how his head moved.

Only then did it hit me that the video was AI-generated. Had the technology already gotten this advanced?

Even I was fooled, and I was his mother!

I couldn't believe the nerve of that Sasha. She seized her chance while Jonathan was working on a project abroad to create AI-generated videos of him and issue fake commands within the company, doing whatever she wanted.

She was gambling that it was unlikely Jonathan would come back or get in touch with the company. She was using this window of opportunity to her advantage. What was she after? The company's year-end dividends? Or was she going to transfer the company's assets out?

Alarmed, I broke out in a cold sweat and immediately texted Jonathan, "Someone's plotting against the company! Come back at once!"

"Got it," Jonathan replied instantly.

I heaved a small sigh of relief. As long as Jonathan returned to the country, everything would resolve itself.

Nevertheless, the company's annual gala was tomorrow. Since Jonathan wasn't around, Sasha would definitely use the event as her chance to cement her identity as the boss' future wife.

She might even make announcements about major decisions, and if Jonathan didn't come back in time…

The scanned files for the Crest Park project were still on the company server. If those people changed the sketches without knowing what they were doing, resulting in a safety incident, Jonathan could end up in prison for it.

I couldn't allow that. I had to protect the company on his behalf.

After marching into the walk-in closet, I pulled out the evening gown I used to wear to award ceremonies.

All along, to keep a low profile, I'd worn simple, affordable clothing to work.

But this time, I picked up the deep purple silk gown and paired it with the most expensive set of jewelry I owned.

By the time I arrived at the annual gala with a hard drive in hand, Sasha had already received a million-dollar bonus for being the company's employee of the year.

She stood beneath the spotlight in a custom white sequined gown.

"Thank you, everyone. I'd like to express my thanks to the company, and most of all, to Jonathan," she said sweetly, her gaze sweeping across the crowd as she staked her claim. "Although he's abroad right now, his heart is always with us.

"Today, I'd like to take this opportunity to share some good news with all of you, one of a more personal nature…"

She was about to announce that she was Jonathan's future wife. I couldn't wait any longer.

"Hold it right there!"

Hundreds of eyes turned toward me.

I pushed through the crowd and stepped onto the stage.

"Oh. It's the old lady, Theresa!" Sasha looked at me in shock before covering her mouth to giggle dramatically.

"What's the matter? You're upset about getting fired and can't let it go? Why did you get all dressed up, huh? To put a can at the entrance so that we can toss you some spare change?

"As for that gown and those accessories, which thrift store did you find them in? They look pretty legit."

Fiona came barreling up the stage to grab my arm. "How dare you cause a scene here, you shameless old hag! Security! Where's security? Throw her out now!"

I flung Fiona's hand off me and strode to the center of the stage.

"Sasha Johnson," I said icily.

The entire venue went silent.

"You used AI's face-swapping technology to create deepfake videos and impersonate being the boss' girlfriend, throwing your weight around the company. All of these actions count as fraud."

The crowd was in an uproar, but Sasha didn't even flinch. She tearfully exclaimed, "What are you talking about? What AI face-swapping technology? You're the one who said I couldn't even tell apart the different layers in a design file!"

I finally caught on, and that made me freeze. By acting like a complete idiot when it came to anything digital and technology-related, she knew no one would ever suspect her.

That was all part of her little scheme.

Wagging a finger at me, Sasha squealed, "Don't listen to her, everyone! She's just jealous of me—jealous that Jonathan loves me! She resents me because she got fired, so she's trying to slander me!"

"Slander? As long as I'm here, you can forget about running this company to the ground!" I declared, my voice loud and clear. "I'm Jonathan's mother!"

The hall went dead silent.

I took out my phone and pulled up a photo of Jonathan and me celebrating his birthday at home, holding it up for everyone to see. "See for yourself. This is Joanthan Grady, your boss and my son!"

After a brief spell of shock, Sasha suddenly burst into shrill laughter.

"You're his mother? Hahaha! Has the thought of going broke driven you crazy? I guess old people these days will stoop to anything just to get money. With one look, I can tell the photo has obviously been doctored! Do you think we're all dumb?"

"She's right!" Fiona chimed in at once. "Why wouldn't we know you if you're Mr. Grady's mother? You're just some old con artist!"

The mocking laughter came at me from all directions. All of my former colleagues were now jeering at me as if I were a clown.

"She's just an old hag the company fired who has deluded herself into thinking she's the boss' mother. She's pathetic!"

"How embarrassing. We need to kick her out at once!"

Sasha's eyes flashed viciously. She walked over to me and growled in a low voice, "How dare you try to ruin everything for me, you old hag? I'm going to make sure you end up too humiliated and disgraced even to carry on living!"

She covered her face and sobbed loudly, "She tried to hit me! She wants to kill my baby!"

Everyone started glaring daggers at me.

Smug, Sasha took her phone out and swiftly tapped away. Within seconds, the screen above the stage lit up, and Jonathan's face appeared.

"How dare someone bully my future wife when I'm not around?" he said, his expression affectionate. "I hereby declare that from this moment onward, Sasha is officially the vice president of the company! As for that crazy old hag…"

After a pause, he added with a malicious sneer, "Haul her out right this second! Don't ever let her set foot in the company again! I want her blacklisted from the entire industry!"

"Good! Mr. Grady is such a good man. Look at him being so protective of his future wife."

The crowd erupted in cheers and applause. Two burly security guards rushed onto the stage and grabbed my arms, pulling me roughly toward the exit. My necklace snapped.

A wave of despair and humiliation rushed through me.

At that very moment, the massive doors of the hall flew open with a single kick, and Jonathan appeared in the doorway.

"I want to see who dares to lay a finger on her!"