People around us gasped.

Sasha shrieked, "You're lying! Uncle Joe would never beg some broke nobody like you!"

I stepped forward until I was towering over her. "Want me to bring Mr. Watson in here and let him say it himself? He told me that if I joined this company, he'd pay every cent of my mom's medical bills.

"While he was on his knees for me, you were still playing in the dirt."

I lifted the 50 cents and gave a short, bitter laugh. "My mom is waiting for surgery right now, and this is his idea of 'covering everything.' 50 cents."

Sasha's face flushed red. She suddenly swung for my face. "I'll shut that filthy mouth of yours!"

I caught her wrist in midair and slapped her hard across the cheek. The crack of it rang through the office.

Sasha stumbled back, clutching her face, staring at me like she couldn't believe what had just happened.

The entire office fell dead silent.

Then I heard the sharp click of dress shoes at the door. Joe walked in. The moment he saw the red handprint on Sasha's cheek, his expression darkened.

His gaze snapped to me, his voice turning cold. "What happened? Cassian, did you hit Sasha?"

Sasha hurried to his side, tears instantly welling up. "Uncle Joe! Cassian's trying to jump ship. I just called him out on it, and he hit me! And now he's even telling people you had to beg him to join the company…"

Joe's face hardened by the second. He pulled Sasha behind him and pointed straight at me.

"Cassian, I was wrong about you. You close a few deals, and suddenly you think you're above everyone? Apologize to Sasha. Now!"

I took a step forward and snorted. "Why would I apologize? Mr. Watson, you're the one who owes me an explanation. The contract says 15% commission, clear as day. So why did I end up with 50 cents?

"You gave me your word. Did you forget? My mom is waiting for surgery, and you're here skimming the money that was supposed to keep her alive!"

Joe's brows knit, then his whole face seemed to sag. He let out a tired sigh.

"Cassian, I'm not skimming the money. Your mom being sick breaks my heart, too. Everyone in this company sees your numbers. We all know how hard you've been working.

"But you have to understand, the economy's in rough shape right now. We're in education and training, and we've been hit the hardest.

"Rent shot up, top instructors are charging more by the hour, and marketing is a money pit."

He spread his hands, looking almost painfully sincere. "Sure, last month you brought in 1.5 million dollars in sales. But once we knock out all the costs and overhead, there's barely any profit left.

"The finance team already did everything they could just to scrape together that 50 cents in commission for you."

I let out a short, bitter laugh. "No profit? Mr. Watson, do you think I'm an idiot? Even when the company was at its worst last year, our net profit margin was still around 50%.

"So how is it that now, with me bringing in 1.5 million dollars in sales, the profit suddenly drops to basically zero?"

I jabbed a finger at the performance chart still hanging on the wall. "Or is it that this sky-high 'cost' only applies to my numbers? Did all those expenses just magically vanish when it came to everyone else?"

Joe's face hardened, his voice turning cold. "Cassian Golding, watch your tone! This company has always treated everyone fairly."

My fists curled so tight my nails bit into my palms. "Fine. If you keep insisting the company is bleeding money and my commission is only worth 50 cents, then answer me.

"How did Sasha's personal bank account suddenly grow by 200 thousand dollars?"

My words landed like a bombshell in the office.

"Ms. Watson got a 200 thousand dollar bonus?"

"What the hell is going on?"

Every head in the room snapped toward Sasha. She went white, staring at Joe with panicked eyes, her lips trembling.

Joe's face tightened. Panic flashed in his eyes, then he forced his voice steady and snapped,

"Cassian, what are you talking about? This is slander!"

I let out a cold, humorless laugh and pulled up the screenshot on my phone.

"Slander? You want me to throw the notification from the banking app up on the big screen so everyone can see it? The memo on that 200 grand spells it out. It literally says 'annual special bonus!'"

Joe's eyes darted away, guilt all over his face. He opened his mouth like he wanted to speak, then shut it again.

I didn't let up. "You took money that could've saved a life and handed it to your niece as a 'special bonus'? Mr. Watson, that's some world-class accounting right there!"

The panic drained from his face almost instantly. His mouth pulled into a thin, fake smile that never reached his eyes.

"Cassian, I was actually prepared to let you walk away with a little dignity. But since you insist on pushing this, don't blame me for handling it by the book."

He slowly reached into his briefcase and pulled out a document.

"You secretly contacted one of our competitors. That's a serious violation of the non-compete agreement you signed when you joined this company!"

Joe slapped the document onto the table with a sharp crack and stabbed a finger at a line buried deep in the fine print.

"Read it carefully! Any breach means you owe the company a one-time penalty of 200 grand! This is your formal notice. You're fired. And effective immediately, you will reimburse the company for the full amount!"

A non-compete? A 200 grand penalty?

I had never signed any so-called non-compete agreement with Joe. The words hit me in a row, each one landing like a punch to the chest.

He'd planned this from the start. Skimming my commission wasn't enough. He'd lined up a fine-print trap to finish me off.

A cold, sick feeling crawled up my spine. My hands and feet went numb.

Joe's face lit with smug satisfaction.

Sasha lifted her chin, too. "Cassian, you're done."

A steady voice, edged with amusement, drifted in from the doorway. "Mr. Watson, look at you, throwing your weight around."

"Mr. Rimmer!" Joe gasped, his voice cracking.

The color drained from his face as if he'd just seen a ghost.

"You want to fire Cassian? That couldn't work out better for me! I was just about to poach him as my sales director and partner."