I let out a cold laugh and hailed a cab. Instead of going to the company, I headed straight for the lottery center.

"Hello. I'm the winner of the 800-thousand-dollar prize from this morning. I'd like to have a notarized certification of my winnings, please."

In my previous life, I had been so anxious to pay for my daughter's surgery that I never got around to having the prize money notarized.

By the time I was framed and tried to come back for it, a staff member at the lottery center had already been bribed by Russell and Kristen.

They altered the winner's personal information, replacing it with someone else's, leaving me unable to prove that the 800 thousand dollars had been legally won.

After completing the notarization confirming my identity as the rightful winner, I also asked the staff to print out the transaction records showing the transfer of the prize money.

In this life, I would never again give Russell or Kristen even the slightest opening.

My phone rang once more. It was Kristen again.

With a swipe of my finger, I answered.

"Melissa, why haven't you come back to the office yet? Do you have any idea what's happened to the company? Anyway… this has something to do with you. The general manager wants you back immediately!"

Her voice sounded urgent, but she deliberately avoided explaining what had actually happened.

I knew she was trying to make me anxious and confused, so I'd be caught off guard by her trap once I arrived.

"All right," I replied lazily. "I'll be there soon."

I took my time getting to the office. When I finally arrived, Kristen wore an expression of deep disappointment, her brows furrowed as she said, "Melissa, how could you do something like this? You've been so foolish."

I answered coolly, "Stop speaking in riddles. Just say what you mean."

She suppressed the triumph in her eyes and deliberately raised her voice.

"Melissa, you can drop the act. The company has already discovered that you secretly embezzled millions in company funds!"

The moment she said it, colleagues who had been working quietly looked up at me, shock written all over their faces.

"My God, Melissa always seemed so honest and hardworking. Who knew she'd have the nerve to do something like this?"

"The company noticed irregularities in the funds last week. I never imagined Melissa would be behind it!"

"You really can't judge a person by appearances. She looked so sincere, but she's this greedy behind the scenes!"

"What did she even do with all that money? Could she be keeping some lover on the side behind her husband and child's back?"

"Who knows? I heard her daughter's sick and needs surgery. Maybe she took the risk for her child."

"What surgery costs millions? It's obviously for her own selfish desires!"

"Whatever the reason, secretly embezzling company funds is a crime. Someone with such crooked morals deserves prison. Let's just wait and see."

Their contemptuous gazes pierced me from all directions, whispers buzzing endlessly around the room.

Kristen curled her lips into a smug smile.

My expression didn't change in the slightest. I said calmly, "I didn't embezzle any funds. I've never done such a thing."

"Melissa, the evidence is conclusive, and you still dare to lie! I trusted you so much. I was even planning to promote you next week. Is this how you repay the company?" The general manager, furious, slammed a thick stack of documents in front of me.

I flipped through them one by one and saw records of abnormal fund transfers from the company's financial system. The operator's name and employee number were listed as mine.

The most recent entry showed that ten minutes earlier, 800 thousand dollars had been transferred from the company's financial system into a bank account under my name.

I took out my phone and logged into my mobile banking app. Sure enough, one of my cards had received an 800-thousand-dollar deposit just ten minutes ago.

The manager glared at me, his voice brimming with anger. "Melissa, what else do you have to say for yourself?"

My colleagues' looks grew even more scornful.

"The evidence is right there. Let's see how she tries to wriggle out of this!"

"We slave away for this company and only get fixed salaries. How does Melissa get to siphon off so much money to support some lover and live in luxury?"

The office erupted in outrage. We were all employees, doing roughly the same work. Naturally, no one wanted to see a colleague take shortcuts and suddenly start living the high life.

Watching the scene unfold, Kristen's eyes gleamed with the satisfaction of a plot successfully executed.

I cast her a meaningful glance, though my words were directed at the general manager.

"Sir, don't you find this a little too coincidental? Just ten minutes after I arrived at the company entrance, 800 thousand dollars suddenly appeared in my account. I assume these so-called pieces of evidence were provided by Kristen?"

Kristen's expression flickered.

"Yes, I provided them. So what? We may be colleagues, but I can't stand by and watch someone like you damage the company's interests. That's why I reported you to the general manager!"

I let out a cold laugh.

"I'm not the only one who can log into the financial system. And my login password—last time I accessed the system, you deliberately leaned over to watch. You must have seen it. How do I know you didn't log into my account on purpose and transfer the money to frame me?"

Even the general manager seemed to sense something was off. The investigation into the misappropriation of company funds had begun last week, and originally, it had nothing to do with me.

Yet somehow, today of all days, every piece of evidence suddenly pointed in my direction.

The general manager frowned and turned to look at Kristen.

A flash of panic crossed her face, but she quickly composed herself.

"Sir, don't listen to Melissa's excuses. The system's operation records aren't my only basis for suspicion—I also have a witness!"

"That's right. I can testify!"

The office instantly fell into an uproar as everyone stared in shock at Russell, who had suddenly appeared.

"Isn't that Melissa's husband? Oh my God!"

"If even her own husband says so, it must be true!"

Kristen smirked. "Melissa, even your husband has reported you. How do you explain that?"

I wasn't surprised by Russell's arrival.

After all, in my previous life, he had also stepped forward at the moment the entire company doubted me, delivering the fatal blow.

He was an excellent actor. Within a second, his eyes were red with feigned anguish.

"Melissa, I never wanted to expose you, but my conscience won't let me stay silent."

I laughed coldly.

"Russell, if you truly had a conscience, you'd be at the hospital taking care of our daughter right now—not standing here slandering me alongside Kristen."

A flicker of guilt flashed across his eyes, but the next moment, he steadied himself and shouted, "I'm doing this for our daughter! I can't watch you continue down the wrong path until there's no turning back!"

"A mother who commits crimes will only make her child hang her head in shame before her classmates. If you keep going, you'll ruin our daughter's future!" Russell spoke with righteous conviction. "Melissa, it's not too late to confess. Prison is simply the punishment you deserve for breaking the law!"

Kristen chimed in, "Russell is right. Melissa, you should turn yourself in. Maybe your sentence will be reduced."

In an instant, everyone was convinced I had embezzled the company's funds. Their voices urging me to confess and surrender rose in a relentless chorus.

"Exactly. The truth is already out. Denying it won't help. You might as well surrender."

"If you take what isn't yours, you should be prepared to pay the price!"

The excitement and triumph in Russell and Kristen's eyes were no longer concealed.

Yet, there wasn't a trace of panic on my face. I simply said calmly, "Russell, you're lying. If I had secretly embezzled company funds long ago, our daughter would have already had her surgery and been cured.

"Today, I won 800 thousand dollars and personally handed the card to you so you could pay for her operation. And yet you turn around and accuse me of stealing that same 800 thousand dollars from the company. Russell, how can you face our daughter, who is still lying in that hospital bed?"

At the mention of our daughter, his expression didn't soften in the slightest. Instead, he replied with brazen self-righteousness.

"I'm not lying. What would I gain from that? Yes, our daughter needs money to save her life. But it can't come from your ill-gotten funds! If you use dirty money, she'll only be ridiculed and looked down on!" Russell said brazenly.

I fixed my gaze on Russell and spoke, "Russell, Alicia is your only child. To frame me, are you really willing to disregard her life?"

His eyes were icy, yet his voice sounded earnest.

"Melissa, I'm doing this for our daughter! Stop being so stubborn. Turn yourself in. I'll find another way to pay for her surgery. Alicia and I will wait for you so our family can be reunited after you serve your time."

His emotional performance quickly won over the crowd.

"It looks like her husband really isn't lying. What kind of father would ignore his daughter's life just to frame his wife?"

"Exactly. I heard they only have one child. Of course, a father wouldn't bear to see his daughter unable to afford surgery. But if the money is illegal, it shouldn't be used no matter what."

"Russell is being rational. If they don't have money for surgery, crowdfunding online would still be better than embezzling company funds."

"And the company's missing more than a million. Surgery wouldn't cost that much. Melissa is just using her daughter's illness as an excuse to spend the money on herself."

Standing side by side, Russell and Kristen looked at me with smug satisfaction.

My face remained expressionless, though inside, doubts churned.

Russell had often complained about our daughter's frequent illnesses, saying the medical expenses lowered his quality of life. He had even once urged me to give up on her treatment and try for a healthy baby boy instead.

But our daughter only had a heart condition—it wasn't terminal. As long as the surgery succeeded, she could be cured.

There was no way I would abandon her. After that, Russell had never brought it up again.

Now I had won 800 thousand dollars. With that money, her illness could be treated immediately, and there would still be a substantial sum left over.

I was also about to be promoted with a raise. Our future would only grow brighter.

So why was he so determined to betray me with Kristen?

After all, Kristen was already married, with a husband and a two-year-old son. What made Russell think that getting involved with her wouldn't end with her husband finding out and beating him to death?

If he insisted on having an affair, he could at least have chosen a single woman. Why entangle himself with someone who already had a family?

Seeing me stand there in silence, Russell assumed I had run out of options.

Putting on a look of gentle concern, he said, "Melissa, you've already broken the law. There's no escaping it. Think of it as setting an example for our daughter. Turn yourself in. I promise I'll make sure she gets the treatment she needs. All right?"

Kristen added smugly, "Melissa, I have a son too. I understand how a mother would do anything for her child. Precisely because of that, you should surrender for your daughter's future."

I stared at the two of them exchanging knowing glances. In a sudden flash of realization, scattered details from the past came together, and at last I understood why they had colluded to betray me.

At that moment, the general manager said impatiently, "Call the police."

I glanced at my phone and curved my lips into a faint smile.

"No need. The police are already on their way."

As soon as the words left my mouth, several officers stepped into the office.

Russell and Kristen were overjoyed. They hurriedly pointed at me.

"Officer, that's her—that's Melissa. Take her away!"

The officer looked at me, nodded, then asked, "Which one of you is Kristen Meyer?"