Ellie Jordan's Alaskan Malamute suffered from heatstroke and she, with feigned anger, accused me of it all.

I was so angry that I actually laughed. "Your dog sneaked out behind me when I left the office … it’s not like I took it out on purpose. How is it my fault that it nearly died from heatstroke?”

With a feigning look of grievance, Ellie cried.

After he cheered her up, Morgan Coleman frowned at me with displeasure and said, "You were the only one in the office at noon. If you hadn’t opened the company door to buy tea, Ellie’s dog wouldn’t have run out of the company and it wouldn’t have suffered from heatstroke and nearly died.”

“Apologize to Ellie immediately. Also, her dog is currently being treated at the pet hospital and you should go there to stay with it ...”

Before he could finish, I snapped angrily, "Morgan! Since you're so protective of Ellie, let's just cancel our wedding next month. I'll make way for the two of you!”  

Morgan hurriedly apologized to me, but that night he laced my food with drugs.  

When I woke up, he had locked me inside a car, exposed to the blazing sun. He stood outside the car and coldly said to me, “Ellie's dog hasn't gotten through the critical period yet. She cried so much yesterday that her eyes swelled up.”  

"Felicia Lancaster! Stay here and reflect on what you have done!"

——

Outside the car, Morgan coldly watched me, without concern for my struggles and screams.  

"You're too stubborn, Felicia!" he coldly said. "Even though it was clearly your fault, you still refused to apologize to Ellie."

"Haven't I told you before? Ellie's older sister is about to marry into the wealthy Lancaster Family. Once the Jordan Family and the Lancaster Family become in-laws, Ellie's status will rise accordingly.”  

“Having her in our company is like keeping a lucky charm. The future of the company depends on her. Felicia, why can’t you understand my position?”

“Just forget it. Just stay here and reflect.” Then he walked away. He was completely unconcerned about whether I’d survive the blazing heat.

In front of the car was a phone mount with my phone on it. It was streaming a video call that was aimed at me. On the other end of the video call was Ellie.

While looking at me, she smirked and through the video call, she taunted me, “Felicia, I've told you before, you can't win against me! All I had to do was play a little trick and Morgan would force you to bow down and apologize to me.”

“In his eyes, you’re worth less than my dog!”

“Don't say I didn't give you a chance. If you slap yourself in the face, kneel before my dog and apologize, I'll make Morgan let you go. How about it?”  

After saying that, she even pointed the phone camera at her Alaskan Malamute.

Even if I died, I wasn’t going to let Ellie humiliate me like that. Through the car window, I shouted into the video call, “Ellie, make Morgan release me immediately! It's unusually hot today. If something happens to me in this car, I guarantee none of you will end well.”

Upon hearing this, Ellie smirked disdainfully and mocked, “Felicia, even at a time like this, you dare to threaten me?”

“I’ve already given you a chance, but you chose not to take it. Don’t blame me for what happens next. Just stay in that car all day long! I'll come back with Morgan to see you tonight. I hope you'll still be as defiant then!”

Before I could respond, Ellie hung up the video call.

I looked out the car window at the surroundings and before long, despair set in.

This was an abandoned parking lot, so it was completely deserted. It was obvious that Morgan and Ellie had deliberately chosen this place to punish me. Morgan had even taken my cell phone. The windows and doors were tightly closed and there was nothing inside the car that could be used to break the windows.

The worst part was that Morgan had slipped a drug into my food last night and the effects seemed to be still inside my body because my limbs felt weak and numb. So, it was impossible for me to break the window and escape on my own.  

As time passed, the sun rose slowly high in the sky and the temperature inside the car began to climb steadily. My breathing grew increasingly difficult.  

Am I really going to die here today?

Morgan and I met two years ago. At that time, he was at the end of his rope. Late at night by the river, he had drunk heavily, crying and cursing the heavens for their injustice and was about to jump.  It so happened I was walking by the river, so I rushed over and grabbed him.

“I have no hope left in life. My parents died in a car accident, my company is about to go bankrupt, creditors are constantly knocking on my door and the bank keeps calling to demand repayment...”  

Before he could finish, I slapped him hard across the face.  He froze, staring at me blankly. Seeing that he no longer struggled to jump into the river, I sighed in relief and said, “Are you more awake now?”  

Morgan nodded instinctively, then touched his face, which was slightly swollen from the slap, with a dazed look.  

I said to him seriously, “As the old saying goes, it's better to live a miserable life than to die well. Your parents, who are watching over you from heaven, won't want their son to be useless, will they?”

“If you're broke, go earn money. If you're in debt, pay it off little by little. As long as you're alive, there's hope.”  

“You've heard of the Lancaster Family, the richest family in town, right? Twenty years ago, the head of the Lancaster Family was deep in debt and dared not return home for the New Year. He even hid with his wife and children in another city. But within just five years, they seized an opportunity and rose to the top.”

“Though such examples of rising from the bottom to the top are rare, at least they offer hope.” You're still young, with plenty of opportunities ahead. Youth is your greatest asset. If you give up and jump into the river now, that will be the biggest waste for you!"

After I finished speaking, Morgan calmed down slightly. I was not sure whether it was my words that got through to him, or the hard slap I gave him snapped him awake, but at least he had temporarily abandoned the idea of jumping into the river.

He reached out his hand to me and said softly, “My name is Morgan Coleman. Thank you!”  

I smiled, took his hand gently and said, “I’m Felicia Lancaster.”

And just like that, the gears of fate began to turn.

At that time, I refused to accept the arranged marriage my family had arranged for me and ran away from home in a fit of anger.

During our time together, I lied and told Morgan I was an orphan who had been raised by an elderly couple in the countryside.

Morgan’s appearance perfectly matched my aesthetic preferences. After being with him, I used my family’s connections to secure some orders for the Coleman Group and helped Morgan through a difficult period.

Morgan would always excitedly say I was his lucky star, as my arrival not only saved his life but also revived the Coleman Family's company. He promised he would never let me down and said that once the company was fully stabilized, he would throw me a grand wedding.

I waited eagerly for the happy moment, picturing when we would walk hand in hand down the aisle.  

However, ever since Ellie entered the Coleman Group six months ago, Morgan's attitude toward me had noticeably changed. He treated Ellie extremely well. He always put her needs first and ignored mine.

Later, I found out that Ellie was Morgan's childhood sweetheart. However, when the Coleman Family was on the brink of bankruptcy, Ellie left him decisively. After the Coleman Group made a comeback, Ellie had come back on her own initiative.

Ellie had seen me as her love rival, but she never clashed with me openly. Instead, she started to scheme against me behind the scenes.

I had decided to give Morgan one last chance. If Morgan kicked Ellie out of the company and ceased all contact with her before our wedding next month, I would not use his past with Ellie against him.

But who would have thought he would lock me in this car, exposed to the blazing sun, just for the sake of Ellie's dog? Didn't he realize his action could kill me?

And yet, he simply didn't care.

By midday, my clothes were wet with sweat. The car was suffocatingly hot, making it hard for me to breathe.

Although my head was spinning and my eyelids were drooping, I knew I could not sleep because once I did, I might never wake up again.

At that moment, my phone on the phone mount outside the window rang. The moment I saw it was my older brother calling and I was immediately excited.

Ever since I left home in a huff two years ago, my older brother has called me from time to time.  I also knew that my parents were always concerned about my life outside, or otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to use my family's connections to help Coleman Group rise so quickly.

My older brother had been urging me to go home and apologize to my parents, but I was stubborn and refused to back down.  

I had planned to go home before my wedding with Morgan next month to apologize to my parents in person, but I never expected something like this to happen today.

My older brother called me several times in a row until my phone ran out of battery and shut off. At that moment, I knew that if I could hold on a little longer, I would be saved, because my phone had been installed with a tracking device.

That was the only reason my family had allowed me to roam free for the past two years; otherwise, they would have dragged me home long ago.

Since my phone wasn't reachable, given my older brother's meticulous nature, he would definitely send someone to find me immediately. So, I bit my arm hard and the intense pain snapped me out of my daze.  

Before long, someone arrived at this abandoned parking lot. At first, I was thrilled because I thought it was my older brother with his men, but when I saw who it was, the excitement froze on my face.

It was Morgan and Ellie!

Behind them were several high-ranking executives from Coleman Group.

When they saw me locked inside the car under the blazing sun, the look of utter shock appeared on the faces of all the executives from ColemanS Group.  

Before the executives could ask what was going on, Morgan coldly said to them, “I know you were all promoted by Felicia and are very loyal to her.”

"However, one thing you all have to understand ... this company belongs to the Coleman Family, not the Lancaster Family."

“From now on, Ellie will replace Felicia as deputy general manager. If any of you dare to disobey Ellie's orders, be prepared to be fired!”