My mother was dying, and only a costly surgery could save her. So I broke myself for three months to fund it. I clawed my way to top sales rep and seized the million-dollar bonus. But half an hour before her surgery, my bonus account read zero. I immediately called my boss-my boyfriend, Jake. He answered, voice lazy. “Chloe really wanted a vacation, so I took the money and chartered a private jet to Ibiza.” My body froze, then I screamed, my voice laced with panic. “That’s my bonus! My mom needs that money to save her life!” A beat of silence. Then Jake’s voice turned to ice. “It’s just a million bucks. Save your drama.You missed a day last month, so I’m writing it off as Chloe’s trip bonus.” I begged him to return the money. He just hung up on me. Watching the nurses cover my mom with a cold white sheet, I dug out the scam call I’d received that morning and dialed it back. “Ms. Maya, I’m so sorry for your loss.” The doctor placed a hand on my shoulder, his voice heavy. My hands trembled, watching in disbelief as the nurse wheeled my mom out. The doctor spoke with regret. “I’m so sorry. We did everything we could. Ten minutes…just ten more minutes might have made all the difference.” I was holding my mother’s cold hand when my phone, silenced for hours, vibrated. Jake’s voice, bright and clear, spilled into the sterile silence of the room. “Chloe, meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me. I love you.” In the background, fireworks exploded in a distant celebration. I slumped to the floor. Losing my dearest loved one. Facing the deepest betrayal from the one I loved. The twin blows twisted in my chest like a thousand knives. The pain was unbearable. I don’t know how long I sat there before my phone rang again. Fumbling to stand, I accidentally answered. “This is the Food and Drug Administration. We have confirmed the presence of a prohibited contaminant in your product line. As a first-time violation, you may avoid immediate seizure by posting a fifty-million-dollar bond. Failure to comply will result in the closure of all associated facilities.” I glanced at the number and instantly recognized it as a scam call. I was about to hang up when the image of my mother on the operating table flashed before me. Because of Jake. Because of stolen money. I paused, wiped my face with a trembling hand, and made my voice sound carefully concerned. “Are you sure you have the right company? I’ll send you our product information and company details in a bit. Please double-check. If there’s really an issue, contact our company owner directly.” The person on the other end hummed in acknowledgment. “Alright, send over the company info as soon as possible so we can verify it.” There was so little credible information in their words; it was hard to believe them based on just a few sentences. But with detailed product information, it would sound much more convincing. I hung up, found the company’s product detail file on my phone, and sent it to them without hesitation. Afterward, I walked toward the morgue. I found my mom and sat beside her. “Mom, I’m so sorry. I was blind, I trusted the wrong person, and it cost you your life. I swear, I will make them pay.” Over the next three days, I handled my mom’s funeral. During this time, I received a message from Jake, asking me to contact the factory and our partners to verify if there were any product issues.
I hesitated for a few seconds before messaging Jake back. “The Food Safety Administration inspected a batch of products a few days ago. A few items failed, but we haven’t received instructions on how to handle it yet.” I was actually telling the truth. The Food Safety Administration had conducted a spot check a few days prior, but it was just minor packaging defects that had caused some food spoilage. A few minutes later, I saw Jake post a photo in the WhatsApp work group. It was quickly deleted. But I’d already seen it: Jake, kissing Chloe’s face. Immediately after, Jake sent a voice message. I tapped it, and it was Chloe’s voice. “Oops, I accidentally slipped! Jake’s so tired today, he’s already asleep. I’m just helping him handle some work.” I instantly realized Chloe was deliberately trying to provoke me. In the past, I might have torn my heart out, demanding to know why Jake betrayed me. But now, remembering my mom’s agonizing death on the operating table because of the delayed surgery, I wished I could rip Jake to shreds. She tagged Sarah, our accountant, asking her to transfer fifty million dollars to an account. A faint smile touched my lips. It looked like Jake had taken the bait. If only he’d asked me a few more questions or called the factory, he wouldn’t have believed it so easily. Over the next few days, I didn’t hear from Jake again. As soon as I arrived at my desk, Sarah rushed toward me. “Maya, can you reach Jake? A few days ago, Chloe told me to transfer fifty million dollars to an account, supposedly for the Food Safety Administration. But I have a bad feeling about this account, and it’s overseas. I wanted to ask Jake for clarification, but I haven’t been able to reach him.” I narrowed my eyes slightly and called Jake. An impatient voice sounded from behind me. “Maya, are you calling me all day just to ruin my mood?” I turned around to see Jake walking through the door, Chloe clinging to his arm, her eyes glinting with triumph as she looked at me. “Jake, don’t be so harsh, you might make Maya cry.” Jake looked at Chloe with doting affection. “Chloe, Maya was so mean to you before, yet you’re still looking out for her. If only she had an ounce of your kindness.” The other colleagues in the office looked at me strangely. Jake was my boyfriend, yet he was publicly putting me down for Chloe’s sake, essentially slapping me in the face. I suppressed the anger bubbling inside me and looked at Jake. “Chloe told Sarah to transfer fifty million to an account. Do you know about this?” Jake nodded. “Yes, I know.” I spoke, intentionally injecting a tone of reprimand. “That account is overseas, and it’s a high-risk account. It’s most likely a scammer. What was she thinking, telling our accountant to send money to a fraudster?” Chloe’s eyes immediately welled up, and she began to cry, sounding terribly wronged. “Maya, is this about Jake? Get over it. That account was an FSA bond-fifty million, fully refundable. They threatened to shut us down. I just secured a hundred-million-dollar project. Was I supposed to let it all go to waste?” Hearing this, Jake’s eyes turned cold, and he angrily rebuked me. “Maya, Chloe secured a hundred-million-dollar deal for the company, that’s why I took her on that trip. Can you stop being so petty and jealous, constantly targeting Chloe?”
Jake seemed determined to humiliate me. He turned to Sarah. “Just do what Chloe says. If there’s any problem, I’ll take full responsibility.” With that, he took Chloe’s hand and walked past me, leaving the office. Behind Jake, where he couldn’t see, the corner of my mouth turned up slightly. You said it yourself, Jake. I turned back to Sarah, smiling helplessly. “Jake said it himself. Just do what he says and transfer the money. Don’t want to hold up company progress, right?” Sarah still looked hesitant. “Maya, but that account is so suspicious! And how could the Food Safety Administration have an overseas account?” I shrugged and sighed. “You heard me try to persuade him just now. I can’t do anything more. If you don’t do it, Chloe will probably think we’re deliberately ganging up on her. And Jake listens to Chloe completely now.” Sarah was silent for a couple of seconds. “Fine. I’m just an employee. The boss has spoken, so what can I do?” Back at my desk, I looked at the photo of my mom, then at Jake’s office, my hands clenching into fists. Just then, someone tapped my shoulder. “Maya, are you still mad at Jake? It’s all my fault. I just really wanted to go to Ibiza, and Jake felt sorry for me, so he took me.” I didn’t want to see Chloe right now, so I started to get up to leave. But as soon as I stood, Chloe suddenly stumbled backward and fell. I frowned. I hadn’t even touched her. The next second, Jake rushed over and shoved me hard. My waist slammed into the desk, making me gasp in pain. Jake quickly helped Chloe up, pulling her into his arms, and looked at her with concern. “Chloe, are you okay?” Chloe’s eyes were red, her expression utterly pathetic. “Jake, Maya’s still angry because you used her bonus to take me on vacation. It’s all my fault, I was too impulsive, I shouldn’t have gone.” Jake shot me a warning look. “Let’s be clear, Maya. You missed three days last month. Your bonus was forfeited. Chloe, on the other hand, just landed a nine-figure deal. Rewarding performance is my job.” I was shaking with rage. I slapped Jake across the face. “Jake, for an entire year, I haven’t taken a single day off! The reason I took three days off last month was because I drank so much to secure your deal that I got stomach bleeding and was in the ER for a day and a night!” I then turned to Chloe. “That deal? I was the one who negotiated it! You just took advantage of me being in the hospital to sign it yourself. I didn’t even bother to call you out on it. How dare you have the nerve to try and steal my bonus?” Other colleagues looked over, whispering and pointing at Jake and Chloe. Jake, his pride wounded by my outburst, exploded in anger. “Maya, you’re already lazy, skipping work, and now you’re making up excuses? It’s obvious you stood the client up. If Chloe hadn’t stepped in to sign that deal, it would have collapsed entirely. Could you have shouldered the losses for the company? Instead of thanking her, you have the audacity to twist the truth. How did I ever end up with such an unreasonable girlfriend?” Jake’s twisted words made my chest ache. I truly hated myself for being so blind, for ever falling for such a despicable bastard like Jake. “Jake, we’re over.” Then I picked up the resignation letter I had already prepared from my desk and threw it in Jake’s face. “I quit. And I demand you return my bonus, or I’ll see you in court.”
Jake’s eyes widened, staring at me in disbelief. “Maya, you’ll regret this! Who else would ever want you besides me?” Chloe looked at me, a defiant smirk on her face. “Maya, don’t be so impulsive! Jake’s company is about to go public. So many women would kill to be with him!” I looked at Chloe. “In that case, I’ll give him to you. You two can be together, for all I care.” With that, I picked up the things I’d already packed and turned to leave. As I reached the door, I heard Jake kick a desk and angrily curse. “Maya, when you regret this and come crawling back to me, crying, I won’t want you then!” After arriving home, I lay down on my bed for a short rest. My phone rang beside me. “Hello, is this Ms. Maya?” I hummed in affirmation. “This is the Food Safety Administration calling. Congratulations, you’ve passed the final interview and can begin your appointment within the month.” Hearing this, I suddenly remembered. My mom had always wanted me to pursue a stable job. When she was gravely ill, I’d just casually applied to the Food Safety Administration, never expecting to pass the interview. Now, I was jobless after quitting. I looked at my mom’s framed photo. “Mom, thank you. You helped me again.” I arranged to start work in three days. Over the next three days, after handing over my work at Jake’s company, I went to work at the Food Safety Administration. A month into my job, we received a report of food poisoning. I looked at the files. Coincidentally, it was the chocolate produced by Jake’s company. I accompanied my superior, Mr. Harrison, to Jake’s factory. We collected ten samples for testing. An hour later, the results were in: the product contained excessive amounts of flavor enhancers, posing significant harm to human health. And, coincidentally, one of the victims of the poisoning was Mr. Harrison’s daughter. Upon learning this, he immediately ordered Jake’s company to be shut down for a full investigation and fined thirty million dollars. Mr. Harrison then instructed me to lead the team to seal Jake’s company. I arrived at Jake’s company entrance just as he and Chloe were getting out of a car, arm-in-arm. Seeing me, Jake wore a condescending, triumphant smirk. “Maya, I knew you’d regret it and come begging! But our company is full now. If you want to come back, you’ll have to be a cleaner, and I’ll pay you a thousand dollars a month.” I rolled my eyes at Jake. Then I pulled out the official notice and plastered it on his company door. “Your company’s products have violated food safety regulations. Your company is now being shut down for a full inspection of all products and fined thirty million dollars.” Jake heard my words, unfazed, and scoffed mockingly. “Maya, did you go crazy after breaking up with me?” I pulled out the ID badge from around my neck. My colleagues behind me also stepped forward. “Please cooperate with our work.” Only then did Jake realize this wasn’t a joke. He looked at Chloe. “You must be mistaken! We just paid the Food Safety Administration a fifty-million-dollar deposit a month ago!” Another one of my colleagues spoke up, sounding exasperated. “The Food Safety Administration never charges anything called a ‘deposit’.” Jake’s face went pale. “That’s impossible! We transferred fifty million!” Chloe’s hands shook as she redialed the number. A pre-recorded, robotic message filled the air: “The number you have dialed is not in service.” Panic rising, Jake shoved the transfer receipt at my colleague. “This is your official account! I wired the money here!” My colleague took one glance. “Sir, this is not our account. It’s registered overseas. This is a classic wire fraud scheme.” Jake froze, stunned.
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