The relatives at the table heard this and nodded approvingly one after another.

"Zack is truly a man of principle!"

"A woman like Clara could never deserve Zack. Gina is a much better match for him."

Gina heard this, and a flicker of smug triumph passed through her eyes.

Pretending to be magnanimous, she dabbed at her tears and said softly to Zack, "Zack, don't be too hard on Clara. She grew up in the countryside and has never seen real money. Anyone might lose their head for a moment.

"As long as she admits she was wrong, I'm willing to beg Uncle Robert to go easy on her and not take this to the police. Let her keep some dignity."

Zack looked at Gina with deep emotion. "Gina, you're so kind. She did this to you, and you're still pleading for her.

"You come from a good family. You're brilliant and graceful. That's the kind of quality a real government employee should have."

Then he pulled a pre-printed document from his briefcase and slammed it down on the dining table.

"Clara, Gina is soft-hearted and trying to give you a way out. This is a voluntary letter of resignation and confession to leaking classified information. Sign it right now. Admit to the leak.

"As soon as you sign, get out of the city agency. Then the chief can consider not referring you to the prosecutor's office."

I glanced down at the confession. The terms were written out clearly. Not only did I have to admit to stealing classified documents, I also had to admit I did it to pay off personal debts.

This wasn't giving me a way out. This was nailing the leak squarely on my back.

The on-screen text scrolled wildly in front of my eyes.

[This freeloading jerk is unbelievable! He rode Clara's work to the top, and now he's turning on her.]

[There's no way they didn't prepare that confession letter in advance. They set this trap for her from the start.]

[Go ahead and sign it, Clara. The moment you do, these people are all going to prison!]

I let out a cold laugh and picked up the confession.

Robert saw me pick up a pen, and a flash of triumph gleamed in his eyes. He barked, "Sign it now! Letting you slink away with any dignity at all is more mercy than you deserve!"

I looked up at these detestable people. The corner of my mouth curled into a mocking smile.

"Dignity? Uncle Robert, is your idea of dignity built on trampling over someone else's blood and bone?"

Before anyone could respond, I gripped the confession with both hands and tore it to shreds in front of everyone.

Zack's eyes went wide. He roared, "Clara! Are you refusing to take the way out we're offering you?"

"Offering me a way out?" I threw the shredded paper right in Zack's face. "Zack, who do you think you are? Do you need me to remind you how you got to be Deputy Director?

"For the past three years, who wrote the agency's year-end summaries? Who wrote the reports to the state commission? I did, night after night, while you took my work to impress your bosses. And now, you have the nerve to stand there talking to me about 'quality'?"

Zack flinched at the sting of my words. His face turned beet red. He pointed at me but couldn't get a word out.

"You... you're lying!"

I ignored his tantrum and turned to Robert, whose face had gone dark.

"And you, Uncle Robert. You keep saying Gina got into the city agency through proper channels. But from what I know, her name was never on this year's hiring list.

"She never even took the written exam. She directly replaced someone else on the interview list. Do you really think backroom deals like that can stay hidden forever?"

Robert's pupils shrank. He never imagined that I, a brand-new hire, could know so much. These were absolute secrets within the agency!

"What... what are you even talking about?" Robert completely dropped any pretense of decency and screamed with humiliated fury.

Seeing that not only would I not take the fall, but I was exposing his secrets in public, he knew there was no peaceful way out of this.

"Guards! Someone! Get the security guards in here!"

At Robert's roar, the door to the private dining room burst open. Several of his lackeys who usually brown-nosed him came rushing in, along with four or five security guards.

"Chief, what's wrong?" one of the lackeys asked, glaring at me menacingly.

Robert pointed at me and gave the order, frantic with rage, "This woman is suspected of stealing state secrets, spreading false rumors, and slandering her superior! Grab her! If she doesn't put her fingerprint on that confession letter, no one leaves this room!"

In this little fiefdom of the city agency, Robert was used to having the final say on everything.

Several subordinates and security guards instantly rushed forward and surrounded me.

The relatives nearby all shrank back in fear, but not one of them stepped forward to say a word in my defense.

Gina stood behind Robert, watching me get surrounded. At last, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl upward.

She picked up a small box of red ink pad and sashayed over to me.

On the surface, she was still putting on an act, tearfully pleading, "Clara, just stop making Uncle Robert so angry. Just sign it already. We're all family..."

But when she got close to me, she lowered her voice to a venomous whisper that only the two of us could hear, "Clara, so what if you had the highest test scores? So what if you've always been so high and mighty?

"Once you take the fall for this leak today, you'll never be able to take another civil service exam for the rest of your life. You won't even be able to find a real job.

"Everything you have—your future, your career, even your man—will end up being mine. How do you think you're going to win against me?"

I looked coldly at her face, twisted with jealousy and smugness, and felt nothing at all.

"Gina, do you really think this city agency is your family's private business?"

"Whether it is or not, you're about to find out."

Gina snorted, then turned and called out, "Zack! Clara still won't see reason. Come help Uncle Robert!"

Zack, determined to eliminate any loose ends, rushed forward without hesitation. Using his strength as a man, he grabbed my shoulders and shoved me down against the table.

"Clara, don't blame me for being ruthless. Blame yourself for not knowing when to give in."

Seeing this, Gina grabbed my right hand and tried to force my thumb into the ink pad.

"Just press it already!"

As I struggled to break free from Zack's grip, I quietly slipped my other hand into my pocket.

Inside, I felt the encrypted communication device issued by the state ethics commission. Blindly, I pressed the emergency locator button.

I felt a very faint vibration. The signal had been sent.

The on-screen text scrolled wildly.

[AHHHHH!!! She did it! Clara just called for backup!]

[This uncle and this loser ex-boyfriend are still digging their own graves. They're practically handing their heads to the executioner.]

[When the tactical team kicks that door in, let's see if they can still smile!]

Facing Zack's brute force and Gina's pressure, I stopped holding back.

I dropped my shoulder, used the momentum, and slammed into Zack, sending him stumbling backward until he crashed into a chair.

Then I drew back my arm and slapped Gina hard across the face. The sharp crack echoed through the private dining room.

Gina saw stars. The ink pad flew out of her hand. She crumpled to the carpet, clutching her face and letting out a screech like a stuck pig.

"Ahh! You hit me!"

Everyone was stunned. No one expected that, surrounded by security guards and lackeys, I would still dare to strike back.

Robert was shaking with rage. He pointed at me and bellowed, "This is mutiny! Mutiny! Tie her and beat her up! If she dies, it's on me!"

Several guards and subordinates all started to lunge at me.

I shouted, "Let's see who dares!"

And from my inner pocket, I pulled out a badge and held it high.

My gaze swept the room like a blade. My voice rang out loud and clear, "I am Clara, head of the Eighth Inspection Team from the state ethics commission. I am conducting a special disciplinary review under Operation Clean Sweep.

"Robert, you are suspected of serious disciplinary and legal violations. I have opened a formal investigation into you.

"Anyone who interferes with federal law enforcement today will be charged as an accessory."