Chapter 4

Bianca's smile froze on her face.

She clearly didn't expect me to just stop caring about my reputation, let alone display the recording screen right in front of her.

"Chloe... what are you doing?"

Her voice faltered, and her eyes kept darting toward my phone screen.

"Since you love acting in public so much, let's make it a full production."

I leaned against the reception desk, crossing my arms.

"Didn't you say I'm afraid of you stealing him? Prove it to us. How are you going to do it? With your cheap, unbuttoned pajamas, or with this soup that probably has god-knows-what in it?"

A few coworkers watching nearby let out soft chuckles.

People in tech companies never lacked a nose for drama.

Bianca understood my sarcasm, and her face flushed crimson.

"Chloe Miller, you've gone too far!"

She finally dropped the act, her tears vanishing in an instant.

"I came here out of the goodness of my heart to bring you guys something, and you're trying to intimidate me with a recording?"

She reached out to grab my phone.

I quickly snatched it away.

"Why aren't you crying anymore?" I looked at her coldly. "Where's your helpless airhead filter? Where's that innocent, victimized look? Giving up on the act so soon?"

Bianca gritted her teeth in anger.

But with so many eyes on her, she had to suppress her rage.

"Fine, Chloe. You think that Vance guy can protect you forever, don't you?"

She leaned in close, whispering so only the two of us could hear.

"Who do you think you are? Since we were kids, whenever I wanted something, Mom and Dad gave it to me."

"Your last two exes? I barely had to wiggle my finger and they came begging like dogs. You think Ethan Vance is any different?"

"Men are all the same. Just you wait. I'll have him begging on his knees to lick my toes sooner or later."

She thought I had stopped the recording.

She thought whispering made her safe.

But she didn't know that my phone was the latest model with incredible audio capture.

And she definitely didn't know that the recording app was still running in the background even though the screen had gone black.

Looking at her face, slightly distorted by jealousy and competitive rage, I found her incredibly pathetic.

"Sure," I said, taking a step back to create distance.

"I'll be waiting."

Bianca sneered, picked up the thermos from the desk, and stomped away in her high heels.

I picked up my phone and stopped the recording.

Looking at the 3-minute-and-12-second audio file on my screen, I smiled.

My first card was in my hand.

After work.

Ethan came to pick me up.

His car was parked by the curb, and he was holding a hot latte.

"You look exhausted. Did your brainless sister disgust you again?"

He handed me the coffee and opened the passenger door for me.

I took a sip of the coffee.

"She came to my office to deliver soup today, and she officially declared war."

I pulled out my phone and played the audio.

Bianca's voice echoed in the quiet car: "I'll have him begging on his knees to lick my toes sooner or later."

After listening, Ethan frowned in disgust.

"Does she have any hygiene awareness? Licking toes can lead to fungal infections. That's disgusting."

I couldn't help but burst into laughter.

The stress that had built up all day vanished instantly because of his words.

"You're not mad?" I asked.

"Why would I be mad? Being targeted by an idiot just proves my taste is good."

Ethan started the car.

"But still, if we don't crush people like her once and for all, she'll keep buzzing around like a fly."

His long fingers tapped the steering wheel.

"When do you want to pull the trigger?"

"Christmas," I said, looking at the city lights outside.

"On Christmas, all our extended family will be there. Bianca cares about her 'perfect daughter' image in front of the relatives more than anything. I want to strip her mask off in front of everyone."

Ethan glanced at me.

His eyes held unedited admiration.

"Great plan."

"Need any technical support? Like casting this audio onto the TV during Christmas dinner?"

"No need," I shook my head.

"That's not enough. I need more evidence to prove she isn't just targeting me, but that she's a pathological liar."

There were still two weeks until Christmas.

During those two weeks, Bianca was surprisingly quiet.

She didn't cause any drama, didn't post any passive-aggressive things on Snapchat, and didn't even bother me.

Eleanor called me twice.

She told me in a harsh tone that I had to come home for Christmas dinner, and I was absolutely not allowed to bring Ethan.

"That boyfriend of yours has no manners. I will not allow him in our house!"

I agreed.

Because I knew this was just the calm before the storm.

A person like Bianca could never let things go.

She was definitely planning something big.

The day before Christmas.

I was called back to the house to help wrap Christmas gifts.

In reality, Eleanor just wanted to assert her maternal authority by making me do manual labor.

As soon as I walked into the kitchen, I heard Bianca's dramatic gasp from the living room.

"Oh my gosh! How... how did this happen?!"