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.

Melanie woke up to the sharp smell of disinfectant.

The first thing she saw was Mathew looking somewhat haggard.

"You're finally awake." Mathew's voice trembled slightly as he pulled her into his arms with emotion.

"Melanie, you have no idea how close I came to losing you forever." His words tumbled out messily and his eyes grew moist.

"It was Rosalyn, I saw her with my own eyes," she said in a hoarse voice.

"I know, I believe you." Mentioning the people who hurt Melanie made Mathew's tone turn vicious. "Don't worry, I'll make everyone who harmed you pay."

Seeing his complete unwavering trust warmed Melanie's heart.

It was the second time since her mother's death that she felt truly valued and trusted.

After the surge of emotion passed, she remembered the most important thing. "Did you get the evidence from the Dawson Group?"

Mathew shook his head. "The Dawson Group's system security is too tight, my people are still trying to crack it."

Melanie took a deep breath and spoke slowly. "One week from now is Rosalyn's celebration banquet, the whole company will be there. That will be the perfect opportunity."

She would give the two of them a grand gift.

For several days Ethan did not see Melanie at all.

"Ethan, Melanie hasn't come to work these past few days, isn't she just throwing a tantrum with you?"

Ethan felt a flash of irritation at the words. How dare Melanie throw a tantrum at him? It seemed he had spoiled Melanie too much over the years. This time he would deliberately ignore her for a few days.

Until the celebration banquet one week later.

Rosalyn had specially chosen the latest high-end custom gown, applied the most exquisite makeup and stood arm in arm with Ethan, basking in everyone's praise and compliments with a smug smile.

But Ethan's mind was elsewhere.

His eyes scanned the room again and again, yet he still could not find Melanie.

A strange uneasiness rose in his chest. "Where's Melanie?"

Rosalyn's eyes flashed with quick hatred before she put on a wronged expression. "Does Melanie really not want to see me? Ethan, since she dislikes me so much, maybe I should just leave."

Ethan felt a flicker of something odd but he still comforted her. "No need, once I get the marriage certificate with her in a couple of days, I'll have her resign and stay home. She won't be able to bully you anymore."

Ethan patted the back of Rosalyn's hand to reassure her. "I think I've indulged her too much. Whether she shows up or not, today is your day. Just ignore her."

Only then did Rosalyn smile brightly. "Ethan, I heard everyone prepared a congratulatory video for me, let's watch it together."

Ethan nodded absentmindedly.

The next second the big screen lit up.

But what appeared on the screen was not the employees' congratulations. Instead it showed two naked bodies entangled together.

Moans of passion filled the entire banquet hall.

A smug gleam flashed in Rosalyn's eyes but her face showed exaggerated shock as she pretended to console. "Ethan, I believe Melanie would never do anything to betray you, this must be a misunderstanding."

But before she could finish the camera zoomed in revealing the two faces clearly.

It was Rosalyn and Ethan.

The room erupted in an instant.

Rosalyn's face turned deathly pale and her whole body trembled.

Ethan's expression darkened. "Turn it off, shut it down now, no one is allowed to spread what happened today. Where's Melanie? Tell her to come see me."

Ethan was convinced Melanie was behind it all.

"Mr. Dawson, Melanie has already resigned, you personally signed the resignation letter." The assistant beside him spoke cautiously.

Ethan froze. "How is that possible?"

At that moment Rosalyn ran out crying. Ethan felt irritated but still chased after her.

Just as he stepped out he ran into Leyla. "Ethan, Melanie is getting married today, can I borrow your sports car?"

Ethan stopped dead in his tracks. "Who is getting married?"

"Melanie, your secretary of course, with Mathew Fuller. What, you didn't get an invitation?" Leyla waved the invitation in her hand.

Mathew Fuller?

His longtime rival Mathew Fuller?

Ethan could not believe it. He snatched the invitation.

On it was clearly written: Bride: Melanie Gilbert.

"No, this is impossible." Ethan staggered, almost unable to stand.

Melanie had always been gentle, obedient and loved him with her whole heart. How could she…

An unprecedented panic surged in his heart. He rushed out like a madman, jumped into his car and sped off.

He floored the accelerator all the way, running more than a dozen red lights until he reached the church.

At that moment Melanie stood on the stage in her wedding gown, about to answer the priest's vows.

The church doors burst open with a bang. Ethan stood there, eyes bloodshot. "Melanie, you can't marry him"