My ex-fiancé Ethan Parker embezzled $3 million from my personal investment fund. Even worse, I discovered he had been having an affair with his assistant Olivia Wilson for months, plotting to steal all my assets! Four years of love turned out to be nothing but an elaborate scam! “Where’s my money?” I kicked open the door to his office. “Oh, that,” Ethan said casually. “Olivia’s new project needed some startup capital, so I borrowed it temporarily.” “Borrowed? Is $3 million just pocket change to you?” “Aren’t we family? Why be so particular about money?” He had the audacity to act righteous. “Family? Does family sleep with someone else behind your back?” I threw the hotel photos of him and Olivia on the desk. Ethan’s face turned pale, but he quickly regained composure. “There’s nothing to explain. Olivia and I just have a work relationship.” “Does a work relationship require sharing a bed?” Looking at this man I once loved deeply, anger boiled inside me like lava. Four years of tenderness and care, all just an act! He treated me like an ATM, using my love as a bargaining chip!
It was an ordinary Tuesday until I noticed something unusual in the studio’s account. Three million dollars, gone. “Lucy!” I called out. Lucy Liu hurried in, looking flustered. “Yes, Ms. Green…” “Where’s the $3 million from the Starlight Design Fund?” I slammed the bank statement on the desk. “It… it was approved for transfer by Mr. Parker.” Lucy was trembling as she spoke. “He approved what? That was my dedicated design project fund!” My voice rose several octaves. “Mr. Parker said it was a temporary loan…” “Temporary loan?” I stood up abruptly. “What right does he have to touch my money?” Lucy took half a step back in fear. “Ms. Green, I was just following Mr. Parker’s instructions…” “Get out!” Ethan Parker, my fiancé, was also the general manager of Inspired Creations Advertising. We had been dating for four years and were supposed to get married next month. Now it seemed that wedding needed to be reconsidered. I stormed straight to his office. Ethan was organizing some files. When he saw me burst in, the pen in his hand fell to the floor. “Where’s my money?” I walked up to his desk, both hands on the surface. “What money?” His gaze shifted. “Don’t play dumb! The $3 million from the Starlight Design Fund!” My voice was so loud the next office could probably hear. Ethan stood up, adjusting his tie. “Lower your voice. What will the colleagues think?” “I want everyone to hear!” I pointed at him. “What did you do with my money without my permission?” “Oh, that money.” Ethan said nonchalantly. “Olivia’s new project needed some startup funds, so I borrowed it temporarily. I’ll return it this week.” “Borrowed?” I sneered. “Is $3 million just pocket change to you?” “We’re getting married soon. Why be so particular?” Ethan was getting impatient. “Don’t you trust me?” “Married?” My voice got even louder. “Does being married mean you can take each other’s money as you please?” Just then, Olivia knocked and entered. She was the studio’s assistant designer, admittedly quite attractive, with a very approachable demeanor. “What’s going on? I could hear arguing from the hallway.” Olivia pretended to look concerned. “Perfect timing, Olivia.” Ethan immediately changed his attitude. “Explain to Rachel why your project needs that startup capital.” Olivia immediately put on a pitiful expression, her eyes reddening. “Ms. Green, it’s all my fault for not being capable enough. The project ran into difficulties.” “If we didn’t urgently need these funds, I wouldn’t have troubled Mr. Parker…” “You troubled him?” I stared at Olivia. “Did you know that was my personal fund?” “I… I didn’t know.” Olivia lowered her head. “I thought it was the studio’s working capital. I’m really sorry!” “If sorry was enough, we wouldn’t need contracts, would we?” My voice was cold as ice. Ethan suddenly slammed the table: “Enough, Rachel! Olivia has apologized. What more do you want?” “What do I want?” I turned to him. “I want my money, right now!” “I don’t have it now!” Ethan shouted back. “The funds have already been invested in the project. We have to wait until this week to recover them!” “This week? What if the project fails?” “It won’t fail.” Olivia hurriedly said. “I guarantee the project will succeed.” “You guarantee?” I looked at her. “What can you use as collateral?” Olivia opened her mouth but couldn’t say a word. “It must be repaid this week,” I pointed at Ethan. “Not a penny less!” I left, but turned back at the door. “Oh, and in the future, you’d better get my permission before touching my money!”
Back in my office, Lucy carefully brought in some tea. “Ms. Green, should I look into the specific flow of that fund?” “Do it. As detailed as possible.” Two days later, Lucy brought a stack of photos, her hands trembling. “Ms. Green, take a look at this.” In the photos, Ethan and Olivia were coming out of a high-end French restaurant. Olivia was helping Ethan adjust his shirt collar. They were laughing happily, and Ethan’s hand was on Olivia’s shoulder. “When was this taken?” I picked up the photo to examine closely. “Last night at 9:20 PM.” Lucy pulled out her phone. “I followed them until 10:30 PM before they left separately.” I clearly remembered that last night when I texted Ethan, he said he was working late on files and his phone was about to die. “Anything else?” Lucy took out another stack of documents: “This is Mr. Parker’s schedule for the past week.” I flipped through page by page, getting angrier with each one. The schedule said he was meeting important clients, but the actual locations all matched Olivia’s activity tracks. “This bastard!” I threw the documents on the table. “Ms. Green, there’s something even worse.” Lucy played a recording on her phone. “I recorded this in the break room yesterday.” Olivia’s voice came through the recording: “Mr. Parker looked so handsome in that navy suit last night, much more manly than usual.” Another female voice asked: “What’s really going on between you two?” Olivia gave a light laugh: “You know.” I smashed the water glass on the floor, shattering it to pieces. “Keep investigating! I want to know their every move!” The next day, I decided to test Olivia myself. I cornered her in the design department’s break room. “How was the French dinner yesterday?” I asked deliberately. Olivia was making coffee. Hearing this, her hand shook, spilling coffee grounds all over the table. “What… what French dinner?” She nervously cleaned up the mess. “Don’t pretend.” I walked closer to her. “That place by the river last night. Pretty good, wasn’t it?” Olivia’s face turned pale instantly, then she forced a smile. “Oh, that. It was nice. Mr. Parker said he enjoyed it too.” As soon as she finished speaking, she realized she had slipped up and immediately shut her mouth. “Is that so?” I stared into her eyes. “Didn’t Ethan say he was working late last night?” “I… I…” Olivia stammered. “Maybe I remembered wrong.” “Remembered wrong?” I sneered. “Or have you gotten so used to your dates that you forgot to keep them secret?” “Ms. Green, you’ve misunderstood!” Olivia was sweating profusely. “Mr. Parker and I really just have a work relationship!” “Work?” I took out my phone and showed her the photo Lucy sent me. “Is this work too?” In the photo, Ethan and Olivia were laughing and chatting in the restaurant. Olivia was intimately wiping the corner of Ethan’s mouth. Olivia’s face went completely white when she saw the photo. “This… this is…” “What is this?” I held the phone in front of her face. “Care to explain?” Olivia opened her mouth but couldn’t say a word. Just then, Ethan pushed open the door: “What are you two talking about?” “About your date.” I showed him the phone directly. “Care to explain?” Ethan’s face changed when he saw the photo. But he quickly regained composure. “What’s there to explain?” He even acted righteous. “Olivia and I were discussing the project over dinner. Is there a problem?” “Does discussing a project require feeding each other?” I pointed at the photo. “Is this what you call discussing a project?” “That was… that was an accident.” Olivia started to panic. “We were talking about the design plan, and I had papers in my hand, so…” “So you fed him by accident?” I sneered. “Olivia Wilson, do you think I’m an idiot?” “Rachel, you’re overthinking this.” Ethan started to act gentle. “Olivia and I really just have a work relationship.” “Is that so?” I took out another photo. “Then how do you explain this?”
In the second photo, Ethan’s arm was around Olivia’s waist as they stood at the entrance of a boutique hotel. This time Olivia was completely speechless. “I can explain!” Ethan suddenly spoke up. “Olivia had too much to drink that day, so I sent her back to the hotel!” “Sent her back to the hotel?” I laughed. “Did you send her to her room?” “No!” Ethan waved his hands frantically. “Just to the lobby!” “Really?” I took out my phone and played a recording. It was the voice of the hotel receptionist: “Room 312, two guests, check-in time 10:15 PM, check-out time 10 AM the next day.” The room fell dead silent. “Anything else you want to explain?” I looked at both of them. Ethan and Olivia exchanged a glance, neither daring to speak. “Very well.” I put away my phone. “Since you’re not saying anything, I’ll take that as an admission.” With that, I left them standing there staring at each other. A week later, it was the studio’s annual design exhibition. The exhibition was held at the downtown art gallery, with over 500 attendees, all important figures in the fashion world. I sat in the VIP section, with Ethan next to me, wearing exquisite makeup and the dress I had personally designed. “This year’s Best Creative Award goes to our assistant designer, Olivia Wilson!” the host announced. The audience applauded as Olivia walked onto the stage, beaming. She looked especially beautiful today, wearing a white evening gown with flawless makeup. “Thank you everyone!” Olivia took the microphone. “This year our design department has achieved great results…” She started playing a PowerPoint presentation. The first part showed normal design works. I was about to applaud when suddenly the tone changed dramatically. My early failed design cases appeared on the big screen. A huge meme was added, with the word “FAILURE” written prominently. The whole room burst into laughter. “Haha, Rachel’s design back then was really ugly!” “How much did that exhibition cost again? $500,000?” “It’s still hilarious to think about now!” The murmurs in the audience grew louder. Everyone was looking at me, some snickering, some pointing and whispering. I sat there, expressionless, watching my past failures being displayed as a joke on the big screen. Even worse, Olivia on stage pretended to be flustered: “Oh! I’m so sorry, Ms. Green! This was an old template that wasn’t deleted properly! I’m really sorry!” But while she apologized, her face showed a hint of smugness. It was clearly intentional. Ethan not only didn’t stop it, but laughed along. He covered his mouth, laughing so hard he was bent over, almost to tears. “Ethan, you find this amusing too?” I turned to look at him. “No, I just…” Ethan was still laughing. “Just remembered that project from back then…” People in the audience started commenting loudly: “Rachel’s work quality has really declined these past few years!” “I heard she’s lost quite a few projects!” “She’s just riding on her past reputation now!” “If it weren’t for her dad’s connections, she would’ve gone bankrupt long ago!”
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