"It’s my fault for being tactless and saying the wrong thing! Hit me or yell at me if you want, but please don’t fire me!"

Looking at her crying on the floor like that, I eventually let her go without saying another word.

Back then, Ryan had wrapped his arms around me and clung to me affectionately. "Baby, why are you being so kind? I honestly wanted to fire her immediately for making you upset.

"Well, since you forgave her, I’ll respect your decision. Don’t worry. I’ll pile extra work on her and make her work overtime as punishment."

At the time, I thought it was sweet. I never doubted Ryan’s feelings for me.

Unfortunately, Georgia kept pushing boundaries again and again. Now she could even control my bank accounts and cards without hesitation. There was no way she could’ve done all this without Ryan backing her behind the scenes.

When I woke up, Ryan still hadn’t appeared.

Instead, my lawyer, Bryson Stephenson, was sitting beside my hospital bed. His expression was cautious as he explained the situation to me, "Mr. Newman left town with his secretary for a business meeting. He said he won’t be back until tomorrow."

He studied my face carefully before continuing, "I pulled their attendance and travel records from the past two weeks and discovered they’ve been taking frequent ‘business trips’ together... but the destinations were... unusual."

He handed me a report.

I looked down at the listed locations. Not a single one matched any city where Sterling & Co. Holdings had business partners. Every destination was a luxury vacation hotspot.

"I also spoke to several employees," Bryson said quietly. "They mentioned Georgia often posts photos on social media from her trips with Mr. Newman. Would you like to see them?"

He handed me his phone. The screen was filled with countless screenshots of Georgia’s posts. Every single one was carefully curated.

One caption read: "Thank you for driving me home tonight, Mr. Newman. Just the two of us again."

Another said: "I complained about working overtime being exhausting, and someone bought me the bag I’ve always dreamed of as a reward for my hard work."

And one post simply read: "I casually mentioned wanting to take a holiday, and he whisked me abroad overnight. If this isn't love, what could it be?"

Bryson went on, "Our investigation into Georgia’s university background showed that she had a long-term anonymous sponsor who paid for her education.

"The benefactor was none other than Mr. Newman. Her former roommates also confirmed she used to brag about having a wealthy older benefactor. And according to them, she was referring to Mr. Newman."

The weight of these revelations felt like a blade being twisted in my heart; Ryan’s betrayal had started years ago.

"There’s one more thing," Bryson said softly, handing me another folder. "I think you need to see this."

The moment I opened it, my legs nearly gave out beneath me. My fingers shook uncontrollably as I gripped the edge of the folder.

Following a prolonged silence, I managed to release a trembling breath.

"Take me home first," I whispered. "I need time to think."

When I finally arrived home, I froze in shock. My house had been sealed off.

The heirloom jewelry my parents had spent twenty years preparing as my wedding gift—pieces worth fortunes beyond imagination—were being carried out box by box, and locked inside large security vaults.

I immediately rushed forward and grabbed one of the workers. "What are you doing?! Put my things down!"

The men coldly shook me off and continued packing the jewelry away one piece at a time.

Then one of them looked at me and said—

"From now on, Ms. Hawkins will manage all your jewelry, handbags, gowns, and luxury items. If you want access to anything, you’ll need to submit a 5,000-word application through the company expense approval system. You'll only be allowed to use your belongings after she approves and signs off on them."

My entire body shook with rage.

I immediately called Ryan.

Once again, Georgia answered instead. She sounded cheerful, almost amused. "Only a single day has passed, and you already have the strength to start harassing Mr. Newman again?

"I knew you were pretending to be sick for attention and money. And weren’t you claiming you were about to give birth? Your due date is next week.

"Oh, that reminds me, Mrs. Newman. There is one detail I neglected to mention. Given that your due date falls next Wednesday, I will only approve the reimbursement of your medical costs if the birth occurs on that specific day. If the baby comes earlier or later, you’ll have to cover the hospital bills yourself."

I swallowed the fury threatening to explode out of me. "Georgia, who gave you permission to touch my jewelry? Return my belongings immediately, or I’ll call the police and charge you with theft!"

Georgia laughed dismissively. "Your belongings? Ms. Langley, have you forgotten who you are? You’re just an ordinary employee who got lucky enough to marry Mr. Newman. Without him, would you even be able to afford ten-million-dollar jewelry sets or couture gowns worth millions?

"Honestly, considering how materialistic you are—you even use Mr. Newman’s money to buy coffee—I have every reason to suspect you’d secretly sell off the luxury items he bought for you.

"As Mr. Newman’s secretary, it’s my responsibility to protect his assets. So from now on, unless I personally approve it, don’t even think about touching any of those things."

"Georgia, don’t push this too far." I was grinding my teeth so hard my jaw hurt.

"Too far?" she repeated lightly. "Oh, by the way, I heard your mother is staying at the private hospital Mr. Newman invested in, right?"

She laughed cruelly. "Seriously. A broke woman dragging around a sickly mother like a parasite.

"Your mother’s been sick for years. Who knows how much of Mr. Newman’s money she’s wasted by now? To stop any more unnecessary spending, I already had someone discharge her from the hospital."

For a second, my entire mind went blank, then terror slammed into me like lightning.

"Georgia, are you insane?! My mother can’t survive without her oxygen chamber! You’re going to kill her!"

I hung up immediately and rushed straight to the hospital.

That was when I discovered Georgia had actually taken over my mother’s VIP suite and given it to her own mother instead.

Thankfully, several members of the hospital management were people I had personally promoted years ago. They transferred my mother into another room in time, saving her life.

Looking at my mother’s pale face lying in the hospital bed, something inside me finally snapped.

I turned to Bryson beside me and gave the order coldly, "Throw Mrs. Hawkins out onto the street. Every cent I spent paying off Georgia’s loans and covering her mother’s medical treatment over the years—recover all of it.

"And one more thing. I’m suing Georgia for attempted murder."

I gently tucked the blanket around my mother before standing up. By the time I turned around again, I had already regained my composure.

"Take me to the office. If there are wolves hiding beside me, then I’ll deal with them myself."

The moment I arrived at Sterling & Co. Holdings, every employee who recognized me froze in shock. Whispers immediately spread across the lobby.

"Why is Mrs. Newman here at the office?"

"She probably found out about Mr. Newman and came here to make a scene..."

"But she's just a housewife. How could she possibly go up against Mr. Newman? Honestly, she'd be better off pretending not to notice. At least, she'd still enjoy life as a rich wife..."

I kept walking as though I hadn't heard a thing.

Just as I was about to enter Ryan's office, someone blocked my path. It was a young woman I didn't recognize. She looked me up and down with open disdain.

"This isn't a place people like you can just wander into. Get out."

One of the nearby employees hurriedly tried to explain, "Jasmine, that's Mrs. Newman. Move aside quickly..."

Nevertheless, the girl called Jasmine showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, she gave me another slow once-over before sneering. "So you're Mr. Newman's wife? No wonder he's sick of you. You're way too old.

"This is an office, not some place where you can throw tantrums. If I were you, I'd go home before Mr. Newman gets here. Otherwise, if you anger him, he'll probably dump you."

Her words sent a wave of whispers through the office. While a few employees watched with sympathy, many others seemed to be relishing the unfolding drama.

I scoffed and gave a sharp nod to my bodyguards. They moved instantly, seizing Jasmine and pinning her where she stood. I stepped forward, raised my hand, and delivered a forceful slap across her face.

"Who are you to block my way?"

Jasmine stared at me in disbelief before letting out a shrill scream. "Who am I?! Do you even know who I am?! How dare you hit me! I'm Georgia's best friend! If she finds out you touched me, she won't let you off!"

She burst into arrogant laughter. "You're just afraid Georgia's going to replace you as Mrs. Newman, aren't you, you old hag?

"I am telling you, you would have been kicked out a long time ago if Georgia hadn't been so gracious as to allow Mr. Newman to keep you around!

"You actually had the nerve to strike me? Just you wait until my bestie returns! She will make sure Mr. Newman divorces you instantly and tosses you out without a single cent!"

A smile grew on my face. Then I lightly patted her swollen cheek. "In that case, you'd better call them right now and tell them to hurry over. I'm here to divorce Ryan today anyway. But I'm not the one leaving empty-handed."

The moment I stepped into the office, I knew someone had already warned Ryan.

The instant those words left my mouth, hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway.

Ryan arrived with Georgia rushing beside him. The moment he saw me, his expression stiffened for a split second. Then he immediately grabbed my wrist and tried pulling me away. "Whatever this is, let's go home and talk about it."

I violently shook off his hand. "We'll talk right here."

Georgia hugged the red-faced Jasmine and suddenly burst into tears. "Mrs. Newman, I know you're angry because I restricted your spending, and that's why you came here to stir trouble at the office...

"But you really are too extravagant! The company only makes a few million dollars in profit each year, yet a single necklace of yours alone costs over ten million!

"And you constantly swipe money from Mr. Newman's accounts to buy things! Today it's just coffee, but what about next time?

"If nobody stops you now, who's to say you won't eventually take tens of millions directly from the company accounts? What would happen to Sterling & Co. Holdings then?

"I know you're angry at me, and if you want to hit me or yell at me, I deserve it… But you shouldn't take your anger out on innocent employees.

"And you definitely shouldn't have taken revenge on my sick mother! How could you force someone to throw my mother out of the hospital?! Do you know she almost died?!"

The moment those words came out, the employees who had still felt sympathy toward me instantly looked at me with disgust instead.