A text message suddenly popped up on my phone: [This is my 99th time proposing to you. If you don’t say yes, I’m jumping off the company roof!] My colleague, Scarlett Hayes, saw it and shook me violently. “Amelia Vance, snap out of it! You absolutely cannot marry this obsessive broke loser!” She was convinced I was being emotionally manipulated, and she spread rumors everywhere that my boyfriend was a violent psycho. Director Thompson, swayed by her gossip, mocked me relentlessly. “People blinded by love can’t be trusted.” Suddenly, a million dollars went missing from the company accounts. Scarlett and Director Thompson teamed up to frame me. “Amelia, what has that boyfriend of yours done to you? To actually embezzle company funds!” Seeing their smug faces, I dialed the Chairman’s number directly. “Do you know everyone in your company calls you a stalker?” Liam Sterling’s voice on the phone sounded tired but still gentle. “I’m in Europe for a conference. What’s wrong, Honey?” I cut straight to the chase: “A million dollars is missing from the company account. They say I embezzled it. Should I pay it back?” There was a second of silence on the other end. Then, his low chuckle. “You won’t even use my credit card. Why would you touch company money? Honey, that’s not a funny joke.” I hung up. Director Thompson and Scarlett exchanged a knowing glance, and the office erupted in deafening laughter. Director Thompson doubled over with laughter, pointing at me. “Amelia, where did you find a voice actor?” “His voice actually sounds a lot like the Chairman’s. That must have cost a fortune, right? Can your boyfriend, the one who only threatens to jump off buildings, afford it?” “You think the Chairman’s personal assistant is your housemaid, available at your beck and call?” Scarlett lunged at me, clutching my wrist tightly, her nails digging into my skin. “Amelia, snap out of it! How can you be so manipulated by a man?” She lowered her voice, whispering in my ear: “I know you care about your image, but don’t go to those loan sharks! He’s a broke loser, it’s not worth it!” “Is he forcing you? Did he make you embezzle company funds? Quick, tell Director Thompson the truth! Everyone here is trying to help you!” I told them the truth, but you didn’t believe me. Yesterday afternoon, I was reporting on project progress when Liam Sterling’s text suddenly popped up. [99th proposal. If you don’t say yes, I’m jumping off the company roof.] I reacted quickly and immediately turned off the projector. Scarlett’s face changed dramatically. After the meeting, she pulled me aside, lecturing me earnestly. “Amelia, listen to me, you absolutely cannot keep a man like that!” “99 proposals? Who does that? That’s clearly the behavior of an obsessive freak!” I tried to explain, tried to tell her Liam Sterling wasn’t obsessive, that it was just our little romantic game. My family wasn’t exactly struggling financially either. But she cut me off. “Amelia, wake up! How can ordinary people like us marry an heir to one of the richest families? You’re delusional!” Her words were like a bucket of cold water dumped over me. I looked at her familiar face, remembering all the little details from our four years in college. She always said she was ostracized by her roommates, and only I was willing to be her friend. I knew she struggled financially, so I specifically had my family’s company set up a special scholarship fund for the school and urged her to apply. When she was sick and hospitalized, I took her to our family’s private hospital, lying to her that the director was a distant relative who could give us a discount. I was careful not to hurt her fragile ego, never revealing my family background. I even managed to keep Liam Sterling’s true identity completely under wraps. Now, she was looking at me like I was mentally unstable. “Amelia!” Director Thompson’s roar snapped me back to reality. “What are you spacing out for? I’m talking to you!” Scarlett immediately rushed to Director Thompson, her face contorted in mock anguish. “Director, don’t be angry with her. She… she’s really sick.” “Yesterday, she told me herself that her boyfriend is the heir to Sterling Industries, and that she’s some kind of wealthy heiress herself!” “Sterling Industries’ heir… isn’t that our Chairman? Has the Chairman ever even looked at her properly?!” “What kind of pipe dreams is Amelia having?” “She’s so brainwashed by PUA, she doesn’t even know who she is anymore!” Scarlett choked out, pretending to be heartbroken. “We were roommates for four years in college, I know her situation best! She’s just like me, she only got through college with financial aid!” “Her family was so broke they could barely cover tuition, and I had to scrimp and save every penny for living expenses! Now she’s claiming to be a rich girl?” “What has this obsessive boyfriend of hers brainwashed her into!” Director Thompson listened, his face completely darkening. He sneered contemptuously. “So utterly manipulated by a man that she’s lost her mind, and still dares to embezzle company funds?” He pulled out a termination notice and slapped it on my face. “You have one minute. Sign it, then get out of my sight immediately!”
The paper sliced my cheek, leaving a small cut. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I won’t sign.” Director Thompson’s face flushed a deep crimson. “How dare you defy me!” He coldly flicked his chin at the colleagues behind him. “Throw her things out.” A few colleagues who usually hung out with Scarlett immediately rushed to my desk and pulled open the drawers. I lunged forward, wanting to grab the photos of Liam and me, but someone shoved me hard. My waist hit the desk, and I couldn’t recover for a while. Files, notebooks, a water bottle, gifts Liam had given me… Everything I owned was unceremoniously dumped onto the floor. A fountain pen rolled to Scarlett’s feet. “Oh my God, Amelia… isn’t this a Montblanc StarWalker?” She held up the pen, her voice shrill. “This pen costs hundreds of thousands! How could your boyfriend possibly afford it?” “Did he take out predatory loans to buy this for you? Is that why he’s forcing you to embezzle company funds to pay off debts?” Scarlett seemed to have a sudden realization. She clapped her hands sharply, looking at me with a triumphant expression. “I get it! I get it all now! Amelia, what a cunning scheme you’ve cooked up!” “Director! I know! She and that obsessive boyfriend of hers planned this together! It’s all a scam!” “They want to become TikTok famous!” “She pretends to be a wealthy heiress, her boyfriend pretends to be a rich, handsome CEO-type. They take out loans to buy luxury items for her, then shoot some videos, make up some stories, and post them online to flaunt their wealth. Doesn’t that get them followers and let them cash in?” “There are tons of scripts like this online now! Embezzling company funds is just their first investment to launch this scam!” The surrounding colleagues gasped in understanding, their gazes shifting from contempt to mockery. Seeing their reaction, Scarlett spoke with even more enthusiasm. “To kick off this script, they needed initial capital, right?” “A million dollars, not too much, not too little, just enough for them to buy several fake designer bags, rent luxury cars for a few days, and then buy some paid bots and promotional campaigns!” “This embezzled public money is the startup fund for their influencer careers!” She looked at me with mock anguish. “Amelia, I never thought you’d be this kind of person! For fame, for money, aren’t you even afraid of going to jail? What kind of spell has that boyfriend of yours cast on you!” Just then, a photo slipped out of my notebook and landed at Director Thompson’s feet. It was a picture of Liam and me at Disneyland. Director Thompson picked up the photo. The moment he saw what it was, his face twisted into a sneer. “Amelia, you actually dared to Photoshop the Chairman’s photo!” “My God, to become an influencer, she even dares to use the Chairman’s likeness! She’s got some nerve!” “If the Chairman finds out about this, won’t he sue her to oblivion?” Director Thompson had had enough of laughing. He contemptuously flicked the photo onto my face. “Amelia, you truly astound me.” “The script’s written, the props are ready, even the promotional photos are Photoshopped. All that’s left is the startup capital, isn’t that right?” “Using the Chairman’s likeness for self-promotion, aren’t you afraid that if he finds out, one cease and desist letter will wipe you out financially?” “Or do you think that obsessive broke loser boyfriend of yours, the one who only threatens to jump off buildings, can help you fight the entire legal department of Sterling Industries?” Scarlett snatched the photo, and in my stunned gaze, she tore it in half. “Amelia, snap out of it!” “Stop living in this delusional fantasy! All that junk that man gave you—that crappy fountain pen and all those other useless things—return whatever you can! Then, break up with him immediately!” She took a deep breath, looking as if she was deeply worried about me. “If things are really bad,” “I can introduce you to my brother. He’s not some wealthy heir, but he’s honest and dependable, and he’ll treat you well.” “Both our families are from small towns, we know each other inside and out, so we’re a good match. This is the kind of life you should be living!” I suddenly looked up, staring at her in disbelief. Her unmarried older brother, who was forty years old and still couldn’t find a wife? That lazy bum who never held a proper job a day in his life back in our hometown, only stealing chickens from neighbors and watermelons from people’s gardens? That leech who’d drain half her monthly allowance every time he came to the city to visit her? I couldn’t hold back anymore. A scoff escaped my lips. Scarlett’s face instantly flushed crimson. “What are you laughing at?!” “Amelia, I’m trying to help you out of the goodness of my heart, and this is your attitude?” “My brother, no matter how bad, is a hundred times better than your boyfriend! How can you talk about him like that! How dare you look down on him!”
I couldn’t take it anymore. I slapped her across the face. The sharp sound echoed in the dead silent office. “You’re disgusting.” Scarlett clutched her face, completely stunned. A few seconds later, she lunged into Director Thompson’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably. “Director, look at her… she’s crazy! She actually hit me!” Director Thompson exploded in fury, pointing his finger at my nose and cursing me out. “Is this how your parents raised you? Did growing up on a farm make you lose your mind? How dare you assault someone in the office!” He gave a look to the two security guards at the door. “Hold her down!” The security guards immediately rushed forward, pinning me firmly in place. Scarlett walked up to me, her eyes filled with venom, not a shred of her pretense remaining. She raised her hand and slapped me back with all her might. She hit me a dozen times, furiously slapping me left and right until her own hand hurt, and she shook it out. My cheek was swollen like a balloon, and three of my teeth fell to the floor. “Director, my hand hurts so much…” she whined to Director Thompson. A flicker of distress crossed Director Thompson’s eyes. “Take a break if your hand hurts.” His gaze swept across the office. “All of you, line up! One by one!” “Anyone who dares not to hit her today will be fired along with her tomorrow!” The colleagues exchanged glances. No one dared to move, and no one dared to speak. Director Thompson casually pointed at a female colleague who usually got along best with Scarlett. “You, first!” The woman’s face instantly turned white. “Director… I…” “Hit her!” Director Thompson’s voice was devoid of any warmth. The colleague closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and raised her hand, slapping me across the face. Director Thompson smiled with satisfaction. Once there was one, there would be a second. The crowd began to stir. Those who had received small favors from Scarlett in the past, or who feared Director Thompson’s authority, began to line up. One by one, they came forward, their palms landing on my face. Director Thompson seemed to enjoy the spectacle. He watched my disheveled state, the smile on his face growing wider. “Embezzling company funds, disturbing the peace, and even daring to assault someone – the nature of this is truly heinous!” He finally grew tired of the game. “Take her to security and wait for Mr. Sterling to deal with her!” Director Thompson yanked my hair. A searing pain tore through my scalp. He forcibly dragged me out, past countless stares, through the crowd.
I was dragged into a room in the security department. Director Thompson and Scarlett pushed a stack of fabricated account statements and “testimonies” they had coerced from colleagues in front of me. “Amelia, do you plead guilty?” My face was numb, my mouth full of the taste of blood. I looked up, my voice hoarse: “I want a lawyer. Notify my family.” Scarlett shrieked as if she’d heard the funniest joke. “Are you crazy? You want your parents from the farm to sell their blood to hire you a lawyer? Amelia, how can you be so heartless!” Director Thompson folded his arms, surveying me contemptuously. “Stop bluffing. What can your farmer parents do when they get here? Kneel down and beg us?” I ignored him, my gaze fixed on Scarlett’s face. “I really don’t have the heart to.” “But I’m even more afraid that your leech of a brother won’t find another host to latch onto.” Scarlett’s face instantly contorted. She snatched an electric stun baton that a security guard had temporarily placed on a nearby table. “I’ll teach you to run your mouth! I’ll kill you! Die!” The room instantly descended into chaos. The security guards rushed forward, pinning the completely out-of-control Scarlett to the ground. “Don’t do anything rash!” I was taken to a windowless storage room. The door slammed shut behind me. Darkness instantly swallowed me. The air grew thin, and the walls seemed to press in on me. My claustrophobia immediately flared. I couldn’t breathe, my body trembled violently, and cold sweat soaked my back. I curled up in a corner, my mouth opening futilely, but not a single breath of air entered my lungs. Memories flooded back from college, when Scarlett had locked me in the art room and I was almost sexually assaulted by a group of thugs. Liam Sterling had saved me then. I had always thought it was just an accident. Scarlett’s unintentional mistake. Now, in this same darkness, it all clicked into place. It wasn’t an accident. It was premeditated. She probably knew my identity all along. My consciousness began to fade. “BANG!” With a thunderous crash, the storage room door was kicked open from the outside by a powerful force! Light surged in, blinding me. A tall figure stood in the doorway, dusty from travel, silhouetted against the light. Behind him were a dozen bodyguards in black suits with grim expressions, and the pale-faced head of the security department. Liam Sterling’s gaze cut through the dust and light, landing precisely on me. He walked towards me, step by step. “Honey, I’m back.” Liam Sterling took off his suit jacket and wrapped it tightly around me. He ignored everyone else in the room, cradling my face, his voice trembling.
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