Chapter 3

If there was even a shred of affection left for my husband, it completely died the moment I returned to the office.

My private investigator discovered that a shell company had suddenly been registered under Chloe's brother's name, holding several luxury cars and a massive mansion.

Chloe came from a poor background. Where did that kind of money come from?

Following the money trail, the truth chilled me to the bone.

Julian had started secretly transferring company assets six months ago.

Using his position as VP, he routed Bennett Enterprise's liquid capital through shell companies into offshore accounts. The ultimate beneficiary was Chloe.

And what he left for me was a massive, empty financial black hole.

Along with a business loan guarantee contract he wanted me to sign.

Once I signed that paper and the company's finances collapsed, I would not only go bankrupt, but I would also inherit tens of millions of dollars in debt and likely face prison time.

Meanwhile, he and Chloe had already processed their immigration visas. They were waiting for me to take the fall so they could fly to Europe and live luxuriously with my money.

I suppressed the boiling rage in my chest and texted my assistant.

"Make sure the contractors finish installing the special device in Julian's office tonight."

"Also, tell the legal department to secure all evidence. I'm going to trap these rats."

And Chloe, being the idiot she was, handed me the perfect weapon on a silver platter.

While she was busy hooking up with Julian in the office pantry, she made a critical error on the $10 million acquisition contract. She misplaced a decimal point.

An incredibly profitable deal instantly turned into an absolute financial disaster.

The company lost eight million dollars overnight.

My chance had arrived.

I slammed the contract onto the boardroom table, announcing coldly in front of all the executives:

"Due to a catastrophic professional error resulting in an $8 million loss, Chloe Miller is terminated immediately, and we will be pursuing full legal action against her!"

Chloe stood in the room, her face turning pale as paper. The tears came right on cue.

"Mrs. Carter, I didn't mean to... I was just so exhausted from working overtime..."

Julian slammed his hands on the table and stood up.

"Audrey! Nobody is perfect! Chloe has been working day and night for this project. Mistakes happen! The company can just absorb the loss!"

"Do you really have to drive her to suicide over this?"

With Julian leading the charge, several employees who had been bribed with small favors by Chloe began to speak up.

"Exactly, Mrs. Carter. Are you just jealous of Chloe because she's young and beautiful?"

"Firing someone over a mistake is so heartless. If this is how you treat people, we don't want to work here either!"

"Yeah, this is obviously a personal vendetta. Working for a boss like this is toxic!"

Looking at this group of idiots, I almost laughed.

So this was where Julian got his confidence.

He thought that by turning the employees against me, he could force me to back down.

"Anyone who doesn't want to work here can go to finance, collect their final paycheck, and leave right now," I said, my cold eyes sweeping across the room.

"This company's name is Bennett, not Carter, and definitely not Miller. You want to start a mutiny? You're out of your depth."