Chapter 5

Ten minutes later.

The main conference room was packed. Even the cleaning staff and the security guards had been dragged inside.

Richard wanted to make an example out of me, pinning me to a wall of shame so everyone would know the cost of defying him.

On the projector screen, several photos were displayed.

The first photo showed me getting into a luxury sports car in front of a hotel during my business trip. That car had been sent by our local business partner to pick me up.

The second photo showed me clinking glasses with Mr. Henderson at a business gala. It was a completely normal networking event.

But in the mouths of Richard and Chloe, these photos became "proof" of my "dirty lifestyle" and "selling my body."

Richard stood on the stage, holding a laser pointer, gesturing wildly at the screen.

"Look at this, everyone! This is the top sales rep you all look up to! This is your 'hard-working career woman'!"

"What exactly was she working hard on? Sleeping her way to the top!"

A wave of vulgar laughter rippled through the room.

The male colleagues who had always been outshined by my sales numbers laughed the loudest. It was easier for them to believe I slept my way to success than to admit they were incompetent.

Chloe, sitting at the control laptop, chimed in right on cue.

"And that's not all! Look at this expense report from last month. A single dinner cost three thousand dollars! Our company policy limits dinners to fifty dollars per person. Where did the rest of the money come from? She embezzled it!"

That dinner had been for our three biggest clients. To close a twenty-million-dollar deal, I had paid twenty-five hundred out of my own pocket and only claimed five hundred on expenses.

At the time, Richard had praised me for being so resourceful.

Now, it was "proof" of embezzlement.

"Charlotte Vance! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

Richard slammed his fist on the podium, looking like a righteous judge.

"The evidence is irrefutable! Not only did you embezzle corporate funds, but you also tarnished the company's reputation! You even used illegal means during your business trip to obtain five million dollars! That money belongs to the company's hard-working employees!"

He grew more animated by the second, as if that five million dollars had actually been stolen from his own pocket.

"Therefore, on behalf of the company, I am announcing our decision!"

Richard cleared his throat, puffing out his chest.

"First, Charlotte Vance is terminated immediately, blacklisted from the industry forever!"

"Second, Charlotte Vance is ordered to return the five million dollars of stolen funds to the financial department within the hour!"

"Third, Charlotte Vance must write a confession letter and get down on her knees to apologize to the entire staff!"

The room erupted into whispers.

Kneeling to apologize?

This was pure, unadulterated public humiliation.

But no one dared to speak up for me. In this branch, Richard was king. If you crossed him, you were dead.

Everyone turned their eyes to me, waiting to see me burst into tears and beg for mercy.

I sat in the corner, calmly playing with my phone.

A text message popped up on my screen:

*【Sweetheart, the roof is windy. The elevator is a bit slow. Give your dad two minutes.】*

I put my phone away and slowly stood up.

In that instant, the noisy conference room went dead silent.

Perhaps my expression was too calm—so calm that it sent an eerie chill down their spines.

I walked toward the stage, step by step.

Richard instinctively took a step back, but realizing how cowardly he looked, he forced himself to stand his ground.

"What? Ready to confess? Kneel right here so everyone can see!"

Looking at his greasy, arrogant face, I felt a sudden wave of pity.

How did the Vance Group ever employ such an idiot?

"Richard, with an imagination like yours, you really wasted your talent by not writing fiction."

I pulled a voice recorder from my blazer pocket and placed it gently on the table.

"Everything you just said, including the rumors Chloe spread, has been recorded. Slander, defamation, and extortion. Do you think you're sending me to prison, or am I sending you?"

Richard's face paled, and he lunged forward to grab the recorder.

With a quick flick of my wrist, I easily dodged his hand.

"You dare threaten me?!" Richard screamed, the fat on his face trembling violently.

"Charlotte Vance! Don't get cocky! This is my turf! If I say you embezzled, you embezzled! If I say you're a hooker, you're a hooker!"

He completely ripped off his mask, his face twisted in pure rage.

"Security! Grab her! Force her to her knees! Let's see how tough she is then!"

The two security guards looked at each other, grit their teeth, and lunged toward me.

But just as their hands were about to touch my shoulders—

*BOOM!*

The heavy double doors of the conference room were violently kicked open.

Everyone gasped, freezing in their tracks.

At the entrance stood two neat rows of muscular bodyguards in tailored black suits and sunglasses.

Then, a silver-haired man with sharp, piercing eyes strode in. He was flanked by a group of high-level corporate executives.

Leading the pack was Marcus Hayes, the HR Director who had sounded so commanding on the phone earlier. But right now, Marcus was bowing slightly, guiding the older man with absolute terror in his eyes.

And that older man... was someone who frequently appeared on the front pages of Forbes. The global Chairman of the Vance Group.

My dad, Charles Vance.