My voice was soft. “What?”

Linda gripped my sleeve tightly. “Ms. Yates said your three-million-dollar bonus this quarter has been transferred to her.

"She’s also ordered that all 32 senior staff on your team be transferred to the Facilities Department to carry out janitorial work.”

My fingernails dug deep into my palm, and I pursed my lips.

Those 32 senior staff members had been with the company since the very beginning.

There was Wayne. Three years ago, he had worked 72 consecutive hours to meet a project deadline and collapsed in the conference room.

He was still undergoing chemotherapy, yet he was always the first one to arrive at the office every morning just to get more work done.

Another employee, Zach, once waited three days at an airport to close a deal with an overseas client. His sincerity had won them over, and he had ultimately secured the contract.

He had just bought a new apartment for himself and his fiancée and hadn’t even taken his honeymoon leave. He worked overtime all the time to keep projects on track.

There was also Leo...

Those 32 employees had brought in countless big accounts and made the company millions.

They had never once bragged. None of them complained or quit. They gave everything they had.

Now, they were being assigned to carry out janitorial work on a woman's whim.

It was beyond ridiculous.

Just then, a loud commotion came from the doorway.

A group of college students in trendy streetwear strolled in, all laughing and chatting.

They plopped down in the seats where Wayne and Zach used to work.

“Wow, this office is amazing!” a blond guy exclaimed before knocking Wayne’s framed photo off the desk.

“Claire’s fiancé is seriously awesome. He’s paying us over ten grand a month and doesn’t even care when we clock in or out. We have total freedom!”

My face turned pale when I heard that.

Just a few weeks ago, my team had worked nonstop for three months to secure a ten-billion-dollar contract.

At the celebration dinner a few days ago, I mustered the courage to ask Harry to give everyone a five-grand raise.

He had slammed his glass down and scowled.

“The company just landed a big deal, but our funds are tight. You all need to understand the situation. How can you demand a raise like that? You think closing a ten-billion deal makes you untouchable? Have you even considered labor costs?”

I believed him and his talk about the company's financial struggles. I believed we couldn’t afford raises.

Now, he was paying these clueless college students who probably couldn’t even read a balance sheet tens of thousands a month.

Was this why he said the company was on a tight budget?

It was one thing to be heartless toward me, but to treat the people who had helped him build his empire like this was unacceptable. Did he even have a conscience?

Wayne carefully picked up the fallen photo of his daughter from the floor.

“Hey, old man.” One of the boys kicked Wayne's chair and sneered. “Pack up your junk and move it. Don’t get in the way. We’re trying to play games here.”

I clenched my fists tightly.

I dialed a number I hadn’t dialed in years, and my voice was ice-cold.

“Mr. Hansen, about your offer to have me lead your company as CEO in Demarcia, I’ll take it, but I have two conditions.”

I stared at the college students tearing up our project files and made sure to enunciate each word clearly.

“First, I’m bringing my entire team with me. All 32 of them, and not one less.

“Second, each of them gets a salary increase of at least five grand.”

The man on the other end laughed with excitement.

“Ms. Wesley, I’ll give every one of them a 50-grand raise. Welcome aboard!”

I turned to Wayne, who still looked upset, and gathered everyone who’d been sent to carry out janitorial work.

After a quick discussion, a few key members and I went to the HR Department.

“Ms. Lewitt, all 32 of us are resigning," I said.

"Here. These are our resignation letters," I said.

The HR director, Ms. Lewitt, suddenly stood up. Her face was pale as she looked at me.

“Ms. Wesley, how could you resign? And Wayne, you’re all key members of the company! Your department is responsible for 80% of the company’s revenue!

“I don’t have the authority to approve your resignations. I’ll have to ask Mr. Forger first.”

Ms. Lewitt shakily pulled out her phone, and I didn’t stop her.

“Don't bother calling him.” The door to the CEO's office suddenly opened. Claire Yates appeared with a protruding belly.

She waved her phone victoriously.

“Harry said the Sales Department is entirely under my control, including decisions about whether you stay or leave. Do you all want to resign? Fine. But first, hand over all the bonuses the company has given you over the years. I’ll approve your resignation then.”

I clenched my fists tightly.

'Harry, how could you let her humiliate us like this?' I thought.

Those bonuses had been earned through countless nights of overtime!

“Ms. Yates.” I glared at her coldly. “The bonuses were legally earned. You have no right to demand we pay it all back.”

“I don’t care. Either return the money, or continue working here!” She smugly rubbed her belly.

“Harry said I’m in charge now. You'd better listen to me, or I’ll block your resignations entirely.”

I held back, pulled out my phone, and dialed Harry's number.

It took a long time before he answered.

"What is it now?" He asked impatiently.

Before I could speak, Claire snatched the phone and immediately pretended to sob.

“Harry! Ms. Wesley says she wants to resign, and she won’t listen to me! She’s trying to intimidate me!

“I know she’s jealous I’m pregnant with your baby, but she can’t bully me like this. I’m so scared!”

“Hand her the phone!” Harry snapped loudly.

Claire smugly handed the phone back to me.

Her exaggerated whining made my stomach turn.

I took the phone. To avoid any further complications, I began to explain.

“Harry, I don’t care about you and her. I only want to resolve the team’s resig–”

“Anna!” Harry cut me off angrily .“Can't you just tolerate Claire and the baby she’s carrying? You know this might be the only child I’ll ever have. Are you doing this on purpose?"

I pursed my lips.

“I have no interest in making things hard for your lover. Listen carefully. I'm not the only one resigning. The entire team–"

Claire suddenly moved closer and began whining.

“Harry, forget it. Stop being mad at Ms. Wesley. I want some seafood. Make her buy some. Consider it punishment for what she did."

“Did you hear that?” Harry asked coldly. “My fiancée wants seafood. Go get some now.”

The restaurant was too far. A round-trip would take at least four hours.

I refused directly.

Harry snorted. “Fine. If you won’t do it, I’ll make sure your entire team goes down.

"Think hard about what you choose to do next.”

With that, he hung up.

My throat burned, and my chest felt heavy, yet somehow, I was numb through it all.

I knew Harry wasn’t simply spoiling Claire. More importantly, it was about the baby she was carrying.

Harry and I once had a child, too.

Back then, the company was at a critical stage. I had worked late into the night every day. One day, I suddenly collapsed in the conference room and was sent to the hospital. That's when I found out I was eight weeks pregnant.

Unfortunately, I pushed beyond my limits and lost the baby.

I was afraid of hurting Harry, so I never told him the truth. I just said it was a stomach problem and bore the grief of losing our child alone.

Looking back now, it was my mistake to trust him.

Claire proudly rubbed her belly and looked at me.

“You saw how Harry listens to me now. As long as you agree to get me some seafood, I’ll approve your resignations immediately.

“Following the normal process would take at least a month. You wouldn’t want to spend an entire month carrying out janitorial work, would you?”

I accepted her offer. “Fine. I’ll do it.”

The core members of my team immediately had tears in their eyes.

Wayne grabbed my arm. “Ms. Wesley, don’t do it! They’re clearly trying to humiliate you!”

“Exactly!” Zach slammed his fist on the table. “They can try to make things difficult for us, but how can Mr. Forger treat you this way? It’s completely unfair. Don’t back down. At worst, it’s just a month of janitorial work!”

I shook my head.

“It’s fine. Consider it the final favor I do for this company.”

Four hours later, I was drenched from the rain. I returned to the villa with the seafood I’d bought, and I looked awful.

Claire was sitting on Harry’s lap in the living room.

Seeing me, she deliberately said, “Harry, look! She really went to get the seafood!”

Harry’s tense expression softened when he saw me. He reached for the takeout box.

“That's smart of you. Since you've brought it back, stay and eat with us.”

I ignored him and headed straight upstairs.

Harry’s displeased voice came from behind. “Anna, I’m talking to you!”

I opened the bedroom door and found that the room had been completely transformed. None of my things remained.

Winnie, our housekeeper, stood awkwardly in the corner with a box.

“Madam, Ms. Yates said she wants to stay in the master bedroom today, so we moved all your things to the garage.”

She trembled as she opened the box and revealed a broken watch inside.

“Ms. Yates smashed many of your precious belongings and threw them in the trash. I knew how much this watch meant to you, so I secretly retrieved it.”

I looked at it, and my eyes filled with tears.

That watch was a gift from Harry when we made our first major profit from the company. He had crossed the city in a blizzard to buy it for me.

That day, he was soaked and had scraped his knees, yet he smiled and said, “Anna, every year, I’ll get you something better. I will always love you.”

Later, things had gotten too busy in the company, and he had never gotten me anything else.

However, I had always cherished the sentiment behind that first gift.

“Thank you, Winnie,” I said before taking the watch and heading downstairs.

Harry’s expression instantly darkened when he saw me. “What are you doing?”

“I’m here to say goodbye.” I placed the broken watch in front of him.

“You can have this watch back. I’m giving back everything you ever gave me.”

“Anna!” He saw the broken watch and grabbed my wrist furiously.

“How dare you leave? Do you even know how many times I fell just to get this for you?!

“Even if I wronged you, how could you destroy it?” He asked through clenched jaws.

I looked past him to Claire.

“This was destroyed by your lover.”

Claire immediately teared up and whimpered.

“Anna, I know you’re mad I stole Harry from you, but you’re divorced now. Can you please just let me off the hook? Don’t falsely accuse me of doing it.”

“Falsely accuse you?” My gaze turned cold. “Why don't we ask Winnie who did it?”

Smack!