I spent countless sleepless nights developing a breakthrough drug for a devastating illness, and I expected at least some recognition from my CEO girlfriend.

Instead, she accused me of wasting the company research budget and promoted a newly hired young assistant to oversee the company finances.

It was the middle of a brutal heatwave with temperatures that soared past ninety-eight degrees. The assistant locked the lab air-conditioning controls away so no one else could use them, while he shut himself inside his private office with the AC set to sixty degrees. He wrapped himself in a blanket and played video games.

I complained to my girlfriend, and she brushed it off as part of building company culture. She claimed she gave him authority for my own good because she believed it would prepare me for a future management position.

According to her, I was too narrow-minded to understand her intentions. She then shut off the lab main power supply and locked the control panel as if she wanted to teach me a lesson. The fans stopped working, and the heat grew worse.

Several coworkers collapsed from heat exhaustion and were taken to the hospital. The assistant posted photos of himself and my girlfriend at an indoor ski resort. They wore winter jackets and ate ice cream together.

The caption read, “Some people are sweeter than ice cream.”

I finally understood everything.

Her idea of company culture had never been anything more than an excuse to favor him.

Everyone expected me to confront her or demand an explanation. I packed up my things instead.

She mistook my silence for obedience. She believed her air-conditioning punishment had worked, and she promised that once she returned from closing her business deal, she might consider letting me enjoy the AC again.

She did not know that when she shut down the lab power, the research equipment stopped running. The drug we had just finished developing became unstable, and the experimental data was destroyed.

By the time the delivery deadline arrived, there would be no formula left to hand over. She would face a catastrophic breach-of-contract lawsuit and enormous financial penalties. Without access to the medication in time, she would also suffer permanent long-term complications from the illness we had tried to treat.

The temperature had reached ninety-eight degrees, and even if people could survive that kind of heat, living cells and newly developed drugs definitely could not. The machines that recorded all the lab data needed electricity as well.

I hurried to find the backup generator so I could restore power to the equipment.

I was digging around for the storage room key when my girlfriend sent me a message.

[What are you looking for?]

I pulled the key out of the drawer and casually replied: [Looking for the key. I'm going to get the backup generator running.]

The second I sent the message, I froze.

After the power outage, the surveillance cameras in the lab should have been dead. I could not understand how she knew I was searching for something.

I looked up at the security camera again. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the new intern quickly look away with guilt written across his face.

In that moment, everything became clear.

There was a spy in my lab.

Another message from my girlfriend came through, and this time it was a voice recording. I tapped it open, and her sharp, hurried voice blasted through the speaker.

“Do not you dare go. Can you not survive a little while without air conditioning? You even dug out the backup generator?”

A chill spread through my chest.

After all those years together, she distrusted me that much.

I still could not let personal feelings ruin something that important. The new drug we developed was extremely sensitive to heat. If the company failed to deliver on schedule, we would face a penalty worth hundreds of millions, and countless patients would lose access to the medicine they needed.

The saddest part was that I had created that drug for Jessica Shaw in the first place.

Jessica always suffered from stomach problems. I hated seeing her doubled over in pain, so I focused my research in that direction.

After years of work and several sleepless nights in a row, I finally developed that breakthrough medicine. It could solve Jessica’s stomach issues, and it brought the company a massive order.

Foster Group Pharmaceuticals was a giant in the industry. Once we secured that deal, the company would finally be able to go public.

The saddest part was that I had developed that medicine for her.

The drug was finally complete, the company was about to go public, and Jessica had somehow become this person.

I frowned and sent a message.

“It is not for me. The lab cannot lose power. There is too much equipment running.”

Jessica called me at once.

“You are always using research as an excuse. Either you are burning through company funds or demanding special treatment.

“No way. I need to set some rules for you today. You are not getting that generator, and everyone can deal with the heat.”

The weather was already unbearable, and my patience was running thin.

“I will not use the AC, okay?” I snapped. “However, the generator has to be turned on. The lab cannot lose power. The medicine…”

Jessica hung up before I could finish.

I stared at the screen for a moment, then stopped wasting time and rushed to get the generator.

Ever since Jessica put her male assistant, Elliot Jones, in charge of finances, our lab budget had been blocked at every turn. Even the storage room had become a complete disaster.

I had argued for days just to stop Elliot from hauling away the backup generator.

I grabbed the machine and pushed it toward the lab.

The medicine required extremely strict storage conditions. If the temperature stayed too high for more than ten minutes, the drug would deactivate. Months of work would be destroyed.

Five minutes remained.

By the time I reached the lab entrance with the generator, Jessica and Elliot were already standing there like guards blocking the door.

A bad feeling twisted in my stomach.

I forced myself to stay calm and spoke as politely as I could. “Let me restore the power first. After that, I will stay outside the lab, okay?”

My plaid shirt was soaked through. Sweat dripped into my eyes and burned.

Jessica hesitated, and Elliot jumped in with fake concern.

“It is understandable that you want to cool off in this heat,” he said. “However, we already announced in the company group chat that nobody is allowed to use the air conditioning. If you do this now, where does that leave Jessica’s authority?”

Less than four minutes remained.

My chest tightened as Jessica’s expression hardened.

“You just have to make yourself special, huh? You want to undermine how we manage employees?” she snapped. “There are only a few hours left before work ends. Can you not tough it out for one day?”

Time was running out.

I tried to explain again that this was not about me wanting air conditioning. The lab needed electricity.

Jessica had already convinced herself that I was using the lab as an excuse to enjoy the AC. No matter what I said, she refused to let me in.

Two minutes remained.

Time slipped away while I argued with them. Soon, the final minute was gone.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes in despair. I dropped the generator at the door and walked into the lab.

Inside, the core researchers stared at me in silence. Every one of us understood what that situation meant.

Jessica thought I had finally given in, and she looked smug. “See? Would it not have been easier if you had listened from the start? You always have to fight me.

“If you behave this obediently, then after the product is delivered, I will let Elliot unlock the doors so you can enjoy the air conditioning for a while.”

Delivered.

Jessica still had no idea the medicine had already become useless. There would be no delivery.

I stood up and laughed coldly.

“Then stop wasting electricity,” I said. “Save the money and buy some cold medicine instead. You would not want your precious assistant catching a chill in a sixty-degree air-conditioned room.

“I quit.”

Jessica froze.

“You are resigning over something this small? Just because of the air conditioning?”

“Brandon, how come I never realized you were this petty before?” Jessica crossed her arms and glared at me. “I already told you that lately I have had Elliot clean up the company atmosphere and rebuild the corporate culture. I asked you to support me. However, instead of helping, you are throwing a tantrum and quitting.”

She pulled a key out of Elliot’s pocket and tossed it against my chest.

“Fine. Go enjoy the air conditioning if you want it that badly. Happy now? However, since you violated company policy, your entire quarterly bonus is gone.”

I did not move, and Jessica let out an icy laugh.

“Well? I am letting you use it now, so why are you not bringing the generator inside? Do not tell me you regret this after hearing your bonus got cut.”

I picked up the key and threw it straight into the trash can. “I already told you. I am resigning.”

The moment I turned to leave, several coworkers I had personally brought onto the team stood up as well.

“If Brandon quits, we quit.”

“Yeah. We are done with this. What kind of corporate culture is this supposed to be? All I have seen is people getting tortured.”

“I am out too.”

Panic flashed across Jessica’s face for a split second when she saw so many people resign at once. She then turned her anger on me.

“Brandon, do you even have a conscience?” she snapped.

“The company paid you, trained you, and gave you everything you have today. Instead of being grateful, you are encouraging everyone else to quit with you.”

I stared at the woman in front of me, arguing nonsense with complete confidence, and I suddenly felt sick.

For a moment, I could barely remember the version of her who once cried in front of me and begged for help.

I laughed bitterly.

“When you first started this company, you were not prepared. You did not even have enough funding. I emptied my savings to help you survive those early days so you would not go bankrupt.

“When you hit technical problems, you cried and begged me to help. I quit my job at a major company just to come work for you.

“So tell me, between the two of us, who exactly helped who? And who should really be grateful?”

Jessica fell silent.

A moment later, she grabbed my arm and pulled me into another room.

After she shut the door, her expression softened at once.

“Brandon, you misunderstood me.”

I raised an eyebrow.

She gave a helpless smile. “I know you have suffered these past few months. However, did you forget? I told you before that Elliot is only a stepping stone I am using to pave the way for you. Once he serves his purpose, I will get rid of him.

“I have always wanted to move you into management, but I was worried the other employees would not accept it. That is why I let Elliot reshape the company culture first. Once he finishes cleaning things up, I will use the same rules he created against him and fire him.

“Then when you step into management, everyone will compare you to Elliot and think you are amazing. Everything I have done was for your future.”

She said it so smoothly I almost believed her.

When Elliot first appeared by her side, she had told me the exact same thing.

She said she used his aggressive personality to do things she could not conveniently do herself. She said that in order to borrow his strength, she had no choice but to indulge his arrogance.

She told me it was necessary and asked me not to take it personally.

At first, I believed her.

That was why I ignored all of Elliot’s outrageous behavior and kept tolerating him again and again.

After what happened that day, after seeing her side with him so openly, even someone as slow as me could not keep lying to himself anymore.

Before I could speak, the door creaked open.

Jessica frowned at once.

“Who is there?”

She yanked the door open.

Elliot stood outside with tears running down his face.

“Jessica… were you telling the truth?

“You were only nice to me because you wanted to use me to help your boyfriend?”