“Breach of contract?” Chloe Reed sneered. “In this company, I’m the law! What I say is what my husband says. A contract isn’t worth a damn!”

She frowned, irritated.

“Don’t waste my time! You’ve been holding this position for a year, draining company resources. Do you have any idea how much potential profit you cost us by sitting in that seat? Don’t you think you should compensate for those losses?”

The moment her voice fell, laughter erupted.

Several of her cronies immediately surrounded me.

“New here, huh? Don’t even know Ms. Reed’s rules? Guess you don’t plan on surviving in this industry.”

A woman with heavy smoky eye makeup jeered,

“Ms. Reed is the CEO’s wife. Who in this company would dare upset her?”

“You’ve crossed her today. Forget about finding a job in this field again.”

A male colleague chimed in, grinning,

“Exactly. Forget two hundred fifty grand—if Ms. Reed told you to kneel and shine her shoes, you’d better do it.”

“Take our advice. Pay up before things get ugly.”

My brow furrowed tightly, and I couldn’t help but retort,

“As far as I know, the CEO of this company is a woman.”

That only made their laughter louder. They looked at me as if I were a complete idiot.

The woman with smoky eye makeup even pulled a company magazine from her drawer. The cover featured none other than my husband, Ethan Carter, with the bold title:

“Leading a New Era: An Exclusive Interview with Acting CEO Ethan Carter.”

It was the interview I’d asked him to attend for me just days ago.

Because I despised the spotlight, Ethan had handled every public appearance for years.

And now, in everyone’s eyes, he had become the face—and the master—of this company.

While I, the true founder, was here being shaken down for training fees by him and his mistress.

The irony was almost laughable.

Chloe planted her hands on her hips.

“See that? That’s my husband, the CEO. Offend me, and you offend him.”

Her gaze slid back to me, cold and condescending, as if I were some cheap product on display.

“My advice? Hand over the money and save yourself the trouble.”

I ignored her taunts, my eyes locking instead on the bracelet dangling from her raised wrist.

An emerald bracelet.

The heirloom my mother had left me.

I’d taken it off not long ago, thinking the style looked dated, and left it on my vanity. I had even mentioned to Ethan that I wanted to redesign it.

And now—it was on Chloe’s wrist.

Ethan hadn’t just betrayed me. He had given away the most precious keepsake of my family to his mistress.

My heart turned to ice.

I pulled out my work phone, ready to order my assistant to dig into Ethan’s financials for the past few years.

But before I could act, Chloe snatched the phone from my hand.

“Trying to call backup? You think fiddling with your phone is going to save you?”

Without a shred of respect, she swiped through my screen, prying into my privacy.

“What’s this? CEO’s assistant? You even call yourself Ms. Miller?”

“Oh please, playing role-play games at your age? Must’ve made quite a living using what’s between your legs. And yet you can’t even part with a measly two hundred fifty grand?”

I ripped the phone back, shoving her hard in the process.

“Shut up!”

She stumbled backward, then shrieked furiously at the others around her:

“What are you idiots waiting for? Grab her! If she doesn’t pay today, break her legs!”

When I saw several male colleagues actually closing in on me, I almost revealed everything right then and there.

At that moment, a message from my assistant popped up on my phone:

[Ms. Miller, the video conference with the New York Headquarters is about to begin. Everyone is waiting for you.]

I gave in—not out of fear, but because I didn’t have time to waste on Chloe Reed.

“Fine. I’ll pay.”

I pulled out my phone and transferred two hundred thousand dollars on the spot.

I turned, eager to leave this disgusting place, but Chloe yanked me back by the arm.

“Where are you rushing off to?”

“What you just paid was for training. But since you shoved me, I was frightened. You owe me another two hundred thousand—for emotional damages.”

My chest tightened with rage.

“Two hundred thousand for a shove? Don’t tell me you’re that fragile. This is nothing but extortion!”

She lifted her chin, pride and arrogance dripping from her face.

“So what if it is? This is my husband’s company. I make the rules. Upset me, and I’ll bleed you dry. If I say you’re not leaving, you’re not leaving this building!”

I refused to argue with her any further and moved toward the exit.

Two security guards suddenly rushed forward, one on each side, gripping my arms and dragging me back with brute force.

These guards were former veterans I had personally hired in the early days of the company, worried about instability during the startup phase.

Now they were being used against me.

I struggled, but their grip was iron, locking me in place.

“Let me go!”

Never had I imagined that in broad daylight, people in a legitimate company would dare to act like gangsters.

“Leave? Did I say you could leave?”

Chloe stepped in front of me, raised her hand, and slapped me hard across the face.

The sting burned; my cheek swelled, and blood trickled from the corner of my mouth.

“I’ll give you one more chance,” she hissed. “Hand over the money, or I’ll let my men do it the hard way.”

The onlookers egged her on.

“Mess with Ms. Reed, and you’re asking for trouble.”

“Exactly. Who dares disrespect the CEO’s wife? Pay up and get lost.”

My whole body trembled with fury. Never in my life had I been slapped in public.

But right now, survival came first.

Grinding my teeth, I forced the words out: “Fine. I’ll pay.”

Chloe smugly shook the payment code in front of me.

When the chime confirming the transfer rang out, I thought she would finally let me go.

But she just smirked, eyes gleaming with malice.

“Two hundred thousand? That was just compensation for shoving me.”

“You’ve wasted my time and ruined my mood. That comes with a separate price.”

She theatrically tapped on a calculator and named her figure.

“Another five hundred thousand. A total of seven hundred thousand. Not a cent less. Otherwise, you’re not walking out of here.”

The guards tightened their grip, their strength crushing my arms until I felt my bones might snap.

It was beyond outrageous.

My fury nearly consumed me, but I knew a head-on clash would only leave me at a greater disadvantage.

I stared at Chloe’s vile face and forced each word through clenched teeth.

“Fine. I’ll pay.”

Her lips curled into the grin of a victor, as if she could already see the money flowing into her account.

I quickly added, feigning helplessness,

“But I don’t have that much in my account. I’ll need to make a call and have someone bring it.”

Chloe narrowed her eyes, trying to gauge whether I was telling the truth.

“Playing tricks?” I pulled the corner of my mouth into a bitter smile.

“I’m stuck here with you. What tricks could I possibly pull?”

“I’m just an ordinary employee. Seven hundred thousand isn’t pocket change. Of course I need to figure out how to raise the money.”

Her lackeys chimed in to reassure her.

“Director, she wouldn’t dare. Let her make the call—we’ll be listening.”

“Yeah, she can’t run from this anyway.”

Chloe Reed considered it for a moment, then nodded.

“Fine. Make the call.” She jerked her chin and ordered, “Put it on speaker! I want to hear everything. If you try anything…”

Her vicious glance slid toward the two guards, the threat clear as day.

I calmly pulled out my phone and, right in front of her, dialed the head of security, Mark Thompson.

The moment he picked up, I shouted,

“Mark! I’m trapped in HR—bring the team and get me out!”

Chloe’s face drained of color as she realized she’d been played.

“You dare trick me!” she screamed, lunging at me with claws outstretched, hand raised to strike.

But just before she could touch me, the office door was kicked open from the outside.

Mark stormed in, leading over a dozen bodyguards in black suits.

The man at the front moved like lightning, delivering a sharp kick that sent Chloe crashing into a file cabinet.

She slumped to the ground, snarling in fury.

“You bitch! You’ll pay for this—I’ll never forgive you!”

I glanced at my phone—the New York Headquarters meeting had already started.

I had no time to waste on her, but I wasn’t about to let this slide either.

At the doorway, I turned back to Mark.

“Make her return every penny she extorted from me. Not a cent missing. And since she loves blackmail so much—break her hands. Let her learn what it feels like.”

Chloe’s cronies were pale with fear, whispering nervously among themselves.

“Wait… isn’t that Mark Thompson, the CEO’s head of security?”

“Oh my god, so many bodyguards… who is this woman really?”

I stepped into the private elevator to the conference floor, pulling out Ethan Carter’s phone.

The lock screen password used to be my birthday.

I tried four times—wrong every time. Only one attempt remained.

On impulse, I typed in Chloe’s birthday.

The phone unlocked instantly.

A cold smile tugged at my lips as I opened the green chat app.

At the top was a pinned chat, the avatar none other than Chloe’s selfie.

One tap, and the screen filled with filthy, explicit messages and nauseating flirtations.

Scrolling upward revealed a year’s worth of hotel bookings, receipts for their secret rendezvous, and dozens of graphic videos they had filmed themselves.

My nails dug deep crescents into my palm as I gripped the phone.

So I was the fool in the dark all along.

Just then, a new message notification popped up—from Chloe.

[Honey, why aren’t you answering my calls? You have no idea how arrogant that old hag trying to resign is. You have to teach her a lesson for me!]

Attached was a photo of her arm, bruised where she had been shoved.

[See? She hurt me so badly. It hurts so much, darling. Please come make it right…]

Swallowing my disgust, I typed back in Ethan’s voice:

[Don’t cry, baby. Come up to the top floor CEO’s office. I’ll make it up to you.]