A deep, bizarre silence fell over the entire ballroom. Everyone was staring at Lily as if she’d just beamed down from another planet.
I stood there, feeling like I’d been struck by lightning, flash–fried, and my soul had left my body.
Helping vultures? Forgotten where I came from? All because… I could play the piano?
Lily clutched the hem of her dress, cast one last disappointed look around the room, then covered her face and ran out.
George didn’t follow.
Or rather, he couldn’t. He was too busy managing the fallout, apologizing to the room full of “vultures” Lily had just insulted.
By the time the gala ended, George was too drunk to walk straight. Resigned to my duties as his secretary, I took him to the five–star hotel
where he usually stayed.
I had just gotten the room key from the front desk when Lily appeared at the entrance, a ghost haunting the lobby.
Her eyes were red–rimmed. Before I could say a word, she fixed me with a look that said, I’ve seen through your evil plan, her voice trembling
with defiance.
“Sophia Reed, I know what you’re doing. You want me to misunderstand your relationship with George, to fight with him!”
“But let me tell you, I won’t fall for your tricks! I trust George. He loves me!”
I closed my eyes. For that, at least, I was grateful.
Lily clenched her fists, as if steeling herself for a great battle. “But I also know why he can’t get rid of you! It’s because of that project you cont-
rol, isn’t it?”
“Just you wait! I’ll show George that I can help him too! That I’m more useful than you are!”
Watching her storm off with that righteous fire in her eyes, a knot of dread formed in my stomach.
The next day, George and I led our team into the long–awaited project bidding presentation.
During the initial pitch, I dominated the room, showcasing the core technology we had developed. After a round of intense Q&A, winning the contract felt like a sure thing.
But just as the lead representative was about to announce their decision, the conference room doors burst open with a bang.
“Wait! I have something to say!”
Lily stood panting in the doorway, clutching a stack of documents.
Ignoring the staff trying to stop her, she frantically directed the people behind her. “Quick! Hand these out to everyone!”
Copies of the documents were shoved into the hands of the judges and our main competitors. One was thrust at me.
My blood ran cold. It was our core technology–detailed architectural diagrams, key algorithm parameters, and our final, confidential bid price.
Lily stood at the podium, her voice clear and bright.
“Everyone, we’ve laid all our cards on the table for you!”
“Now you can feel the sincerity of the Cole Corporation, can’t you? Please, you have to partner with us!”
The entire room was dead silent.
I stood rooted to the spot, feeling the blood freeze in my veins.
This project was my Ph.D. thesis. It was the culmination of countless sleepless nights, the product of two years of relentless work from my entire team at Cole Corp.
09:49
Chapter
09:40 (0)
And now this… this fool had just handed it all away in the most idiotic, most humiliating way possible!
She hadn’t just destroyed a project; she had incinerated thousands of hours of our lives, our passion, our collective soul.
A surge of pure, hot rage shot through me.
All reason, all professionalism, shattered in that instant.
I strode forward, and under the astonished gaze of everyone in the room, I raised my hand and brought it across Lily Evans’s face with a reso- unding CRACK.
Lily staggered back, clutching her cheek, tears instantly welling in her eyes.
“George! She hit me! But I was only trying to help you…”
George said nothing, but his face was a mask of utter devastation.
My chest heaved. I pointed a trembling finger at Lily, but my eyes were locked on George.
“George Cole, as the head of this project, I am formally suing Lily Evans for the theft and intentional leakage of core corporate trade secrets.” “And from this day forward, this company isn’t big enough for the both of us. Either she goes, or I do.”
