"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.

"My God... she's actually that horrible?"

Ryan's expression darkened instantly. "Alexandria, have you caused enough trouble yet?! Georgia only restricted your spending for the good of the company! If you have a problem, take it out on me! Why are you making things difficult for her?! If you keep acting like this, I really can't stay married to you anymore."

I let out a cold laugh and threw the printed screenshots of Georgia's social media posts at him. "So is it the company that's making you unable to stay married to me...

"Or is it because you want your precious Georgia to replace me?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?!" Ryan barked angrily, though the panic in his eyes gave him away. "Stop spreading rumors about her!"

I pulled a pregnancy report from my bag and slammed it against his chest. "Georgia is pregnant. And the baby is yours. Are you still going to claim I'm making things up now?!

"You even signed an agreement promising that if she gave birth safely, the child would receive five percent of the company's shares!"

Ryan looked down at the pregnancy report in his hands, but there wasn't even a trace of guilt or embarrassment on his face. Instead, he sighed helplessly and looked at me as though I were the unreasonable one.

"Since you already know, there's no point hiding it anymore. Yes, Georgia is carrying my child. But I'm not divorcing you. Once the baby is born, we can just bring the child home and raise it together.

"And if that makes you uncomfortable, I'll arrange a separate place for Georgia and the baby to live. They won't get in your way.

"As for the shares, it's only security for their future. Don't worry. Sterling & Co. Holdings will still belong to our child in the end."

I laughed in sheer disbelief. "Ryan, who exactly gave you the authority to touch the company shares? I don't agree."

Ryan's expression immediately turned cold. "Then let's get a divorce. Don't forget. We never signed a prenup. If this goes to court, half the company and half the marital assets belong to me.

"You've been playing housewife for so long that you clearly haven't noticed I've already taken the reins of this company," Ryan sneered. "Your meager shares aren't nearly enough to oppose me anymore.

"When the time comes, five percent will be the least of your worries. I intend to hand the entire company over to Georgia's child."

I grinned. "You seem to have forgotten something. This was never a conventional marriage; you married into my family. My assets were never within your reach.

"I allowed you to work for me for five years, yet you've managed to forget who actually owns this company."

Then my voice turned ice-cold. "Ryan, we're getting divorced. And you're walking away with nothing."

I looked directly at the stunned employees surrounding us. "Right now, as the controlling owner of Sterling & Co. Holdings, I am officially notifying you both right now—you are fired.

"Security, remove these two from the premises immediately."

The office fell into a heavy, absolute silence for a single heartbeat. Then, the room erupted into total pandemonium.

"Wait... he married into her family?"

"Seriously?!"

"No wonder he became president so quickly..."

"So the company actually belongs to Mrs. Newman?"

Georgia's face visibly turned pale.

Ryan's fists clenched so tightly the veins in his hands bulged. He stared at me through gritted teeth, his voice practically forced out between them.

"Stop talking nonsense. When did I ever marry into your family? The law doesn't even recognize something like that."

Then he suddenly raised his voice, almost like he was trying to convince himself as much as everyone else.