That was the only keepsake her mother had left her!

"Melanie, I just wanted to take a look." Rosalyn said as she reached straight for the emerald necklace.

Melanie rushed over to stop her. "Rosalyn, put it down!"

Rosalyn's lips curved into a provocative smile.

The next second came a sharp "crack!"

The necklace fell to the floor and shattered into pieces!

"No!" Melanie shoved her aside. Looking at the fragments on the ground, she could no longer hold back her anger.

"Slap!" She struck Rosalyn hard across the face.

Rosalyn covered her cheek, eyes wide with shock. "Melanie, why did you hit me?"

At that moment Ethan rushed in. "What happened?"

He pulled Rosalyn protectively into his arms with deep concern.

"Ethan, Melanie doesn't like me. I only wanted to look at her necklace, but she pushed me to the floor and slapped me..."

Rosalyn's eyes filled with tears, her expression full of grievance.

Ethan's brows furrowed with anger. "Melanie, Rosalyn is your sister! How could you treat her like this? Apologize!"

Melanie ignored him completely. She carefully began picking up the pieces from the floor.

Seeing this, Ethan grew even more furious. He yanked her to her feet. "Melanie Gilbert, I said apologize! Did you hear me?"

Melanie burned with rage. "Ethan Dawson, she deliberately smashed the necklace my mother left me! You know this was the only thing my mother left behind for me! Don't you understand how important it is?"

Ethan's face showed not a trace of remorse. "It's just a necklace. Did you have to be so aggressive? Besides, Rosalyn didn't do it on purpose! How could you hit her? Apologize!"

Melanie's heart twisted painfully, yet she still refused to give in.

Ethan suddenly grabbed the framed photo of her mother from the bedside table.

"No! Ethan, what are you doing?! I'll apologize! I'm sorry!" Melanie cried out in panic, but it was already too late.

Ethan smashed the photo frame hard onto the floor.

In an instant, shards of glass flew everywhere, tearing through the picture.

It also shattered the last bit of comfort Melanie had clung to.

"Remember this! This is just a small lesson for you! If you ever dare hurt Rosalyn again, I will make you pay!" With that, Ethan scooped Rosalyn up in his arms and carried her out.

Melanie finally broke down and sobbed uncontrollably.

She cried until her whole body shook as she slowly gathered the scattered fragments.

Even as the sharp pieces cut into her fingers and blood flowed freely, she refused to stop.

"I'm sorry, Mom!" She apologized silently in her heart.

Suddenly she noticed one piece of broken jade looked unusual.

She picked it up slowly and discovered a tiny USB drive hidden inside!

Melanie's eyes widened in shock. She stopped crying and carefully inserted the drive into her computer.

After seeing the contents, she felt her breath grow short and her chest heave.

It turned out her mother's death had involved the entire Burgess family!

Including her own biological father!

Rage boiled through Melanie's veins.

Not a single one of them would be spared!

She slowly calmed herself and began to think about her next plan.

At that moment her phone rang.

It was the sales department manager.

"Melanie, come to the company right now! Do you know that the billion-dollar contract you just won? Rosalyn has been appointed as the project leader!"

"What?!"

Melanie hurried to the company.

She had spent a full year securing this deal, and it was not just for the generous bonus.

Instead, it proved her capability.

From now on, she would firmly establish herself in this industry.

She would never allow all her hard work to become someone else's stepping stone.

"Ethan, why?" Melanie burst straight into Ethan's office.

He looked at her coldly. "Because you slapped Rosalyn. Consider this contract your apology. Do you know how heartbroken Rosalyn was crying last night? As her older sister, how could you treat her that way?"

Melanie froze.

So everything was just to punish her.

Ethan truly loved Rosalyn to the extreme, unwilling to let her suffer even the slightest grievance.

Melanie felt as though a huge stone was crushing her chest, making it hard to breathe.

Seeing her silence, Ethan softened his tone. "Come on, Melanie, it's just one contract. Once you become my wife, you'll have everything you want. Rosalyn just joined the company. She needs this achievement more than you do. Be generous, alright?"

Ethan walked over, intending to take her hand, but she avoided him.

Ethan frowned, vaguely sensing something off about Melanie.

He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. "Fine. I'll let her have the contract. It's only fair that I get a house in return, don't you think?"

Melanie swallowed the bitterness in her heart and handed over the property purchase agreement.

Seeing that she was no longer pursuing the matter, Ethan breathed a sigh of relief.

He signed the document immediately. "Alright. Let's have dinner together tonight."

Ethan returned to his usual gentleness and lightly pinched her cheek.

Melanie gave a stiff nod and turned to leave.

Once she reached a quiet corner, Melanie took out the documents hidden inside the agreement.

One was a resignation letter.

The other was an authorization form granting access to the company's high-level confidential files.

Both documents clearly bore Ethan Dawson's signature.

A slow, cold smile curved Melanie's lips. She would make him lose everything.

"Melanie, are you okay?" Suddenly Rosalyn appeared behind her.

Melanie's heart jolted. She quickly hid all the documents.

Fortunately Rosalyn noticed nothing unusual. "Secretary Gilbert? No, wait. I should call you Assistant Gilbert now."

Melanie frowned, looking at her in confusion.

"Melanie, didn't Ethan tell you? He assigned you to be my assistant." Rosalyn asked with feigned surprise.

A wave of intense humiliation surged through Melanie, her fingertips trembling.

She never imagined Ethan would go so far as to humiliate her just to vent for Rosalyn.

"Don't worry, Melanie. You've worked by Ethan's side for so many years. I won't make things difficult for you. In one week, it's my celebration banquet. You'll be in charge of planning it."

Rosalyn's face was full of arrogance and smugness.

Melanie still needed time to gather evidence, so she had no choice but to nod.

After Rosalyn left, Melanie sent a message to Mathew. "I already obtained Ethan's authorization. Send someone to get evidence of the Dawson Group's crimes as soon as possible."

Mathew replied instantly. "Received! My dear wife!"

He added a little salute emoji.

Melanie couldn't help but chuckle softly.

For a moment, she began to doubt the rumors about him.

How could such a playful man be the violent and ruthless person people described?

When work ended, Melanie left the company.

A familiar Maybach pulled up in front of her. The window slowly rolled down. "Melanie, tonight is my welcome-back banquet. You'll come too, right?"

"No thanks." Melanie instinctively refused.

Tears immediately welled up in Rosalyn's eyes. "Melanie, do you really dislike me that much?"

Ethan's expression darkened from the driver's seat. "Melanie, is this how you speak to your superior?"

Melanie's lips curved into a mocking smile. "Mr. Dawson, it's after work hours now."

"Forget it, Ethan. Since Melanie hates me so much, I'll just leave." Rosalyn cried pitifully, as though she had suffered the greatest injustice.

Ethan's gaze turned icy. "Melanie, if you don't come, I'm not sure what might happen to your mother's grave."

"You..." The blatant threat ignited a blaze of fury in Melanie's chest.

Her mother was already dead, yet Ethan still refused to let her rest in peace.

She clenched her fists tightly and stared at Ethan with burning hatred.

Beside him, Rosalyn's eyes flashed with a trace of triumph.

Melanie thought of her plan and knew she could not let everything fall apart now.

She took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed her emotions.

Reluctantly, she got into the car.

At the dinner table, Rosalyn leaned close to her ear with a wine glass in hand. "Melanie, why don't you drink this for me tonight?"

Melanie was about to refuse when Rosalyn gave a sly smile. "Melanie, if something happens to me because I drank, who knows what might happen to your dead mother..."

Melanie froze. She reached out and downed the entire glass in one gulp.

In the end, Melanie lost count of how much she had drunk.

Suddenly her stomach churned violently. She rushed to the restroom.

Ethan acted as if he saw nothing and continued serving food to Rosalyn with gentle care.

Melanie vomited until the world spun around her.

All at once, she fell into a drunken embrace. "Hey beautiful, let me take good care of you."

The words snapped Melanie half-sober in an instant. "Let go of me, you bastard!"

Melanie slapped the man with all her strength and ran toward the door.

"Damn it! You bitch dare to hit me? You're asking for death!" The man grabbed her hair viciously, threw her to the floor, and began tearing at her clothes.

"Let me go! Help!" Melanie struggled and screamed desperately.

Through the glass door, she suddenly caught sight of Rosalyn's eerie smile.

It was her.

Everything had been orchestrated by Rosalyn.

"Rosalyn, why are you standing outside?" The next second, a familiar voice sounded.

"Ethan, why did you come out?" Panic flashed in Rosalyn's eyes.

"I saw you go to the restroom and you didn't come back for so long. I was worried. I thought I just heard Melanie's voice. Where is she?"

Melanie heard Ethan's voice and tried to call for help, but the man clamped his hand tightly over her mouth.

"Melanie already left."

"Ethan, save me!" Melanie struggled to force out muffled words.

Ethan seemed to sense something and started to step forward to check.

Rosalyn suddenly swayed on her feet and collapsed into Ethan's arms. "Ethan, I feel dizzy."

Ethan immediately picked her up in concern and hurried away.

As the footsteps faded into the distance, a tear of utter despair slid from the corner of Melanie's eye.

"Now no one will interrupt us." The drunkard grinned lewdly. His greasy hand reached toward her.

In her struggle, Melanie's phone somehow dialed a number.

"Hello, Melanie?" It was Mathew Fuller's voice.

"Mathew, save me!" She cried out in desperation.

The voice on the other end turned urgent at once. "Melanie, what happened? Where are you?"

Before Melanie could answer, the phone was brutally stomped to pieces.

The next second, the man grabbed her hair and slammed her head against the floor.

Melanie's strength faded rapidly. She suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Seeing her in such a pitiful state only excited the drunkard more.

He pinned her down and leaned in eagerly.

Melanie closed her eyes in complete despair.

At that moment, the restroom door was kicked open with a thunderous crash.

"Melanie!" Mathew burst in with his men.

When he saw the scene inside, rage filled his eyes.

Before the drunkard could react, Mathew kicked him flying. The man crashed against the wall and spat out a large mouthful of blood.

The drunkard instinctively opened his mouth to curse, but when he saw who it was, terror made him nearly lose control. He dropped to the ground, begging for mercy.

Mathew didn't even spare him a glance. He coldly ordered his men. "Take care of him."

Then he carefully lifted Melanie, who was covered in wounds, into his arms. His eyes were full of heartache and regret. "Melanie, I'm sorry I came too late."

At that moment, Melanie could no longer hold on. In his strong embrace, she finally lost consciousness.