When I'd been forced to drink with clients until my stomach bled, Jack had told me to take better care of myself.

When I was so exhausted from closing deals that I fell asleep at the airport leaning against my suitcase, he'd told me that I'd worked hard.

Only now did I understand that what Jack did wasn't out of empathy or love. It was just routine maintenance from someone benefiting from the arrangement.

He had treated me like his personal ATM. The moment it looked like the money might stop, he panicked faster than anyone else.

"So, me being treated like a joke is the bigger picture you're talking about?" I shot back, wiping my tears. "Jack, do you really think staying home to cook and care for our child is harder than what I do? That I could just earn money by tapping on a keyboard?"

I didn't give him any chance to respond and ended the call at once.

Almost immediately, I received a text from my mentee, Mandy Ziegler.

"Are you okay, Suzie? Mr. Lewis completely lost it. He's smashing things in his office. Please don't do anything rash. If anything goes wrong with Mr. Skylar's deal, the company's quarterly revenue is done for!"

My fingers tightened around my screen as I stared at the words "don't do anything rash".

I replied, "I trained you myself, Mandy. When have I ever been rash with clients or contracts in the past two years? You were right there at the annual dinner. Do you really think what William did was right?"

Mandy's reply came a short while later, and it disappointed me completely.

"Maybe Mr. Lewis has his reasons too, Suzie. After all, with so many people in the marketing department, he has to balance things out. Everyone knows you've done a lot, but you can't overshadow the new hires too much. Otherwise, no one would be motivated to work hard."

I stared at that text for a full minute.

Mandy was someone I'd hired personally. I'd taken her under my wing and treated her like a younger sister.

To help her grow faster, I handed her deals I could've closed easily and took on the most difficult clients instead.

Mandy had been my right hand throughout this 50-million-dollar deal. And now she was accusing me of overshadowing the new hires.

Suddenly, I remembered something William had said during the annual dinner earlier.

When he was rewarding Lily Lane, our receptionist, he'd added pointedly, "Our company believes in giving young people more opportunities. As long as you're willing to work hard, you'll be rewarded !"

It turned out William thought I was earning too much and had too much authority as a sales director. I was in his way of promoting his own people.

I blocked Mandy, then sent a long text in the marketing department group chat.

"All further coordination regarding Mr. Skylar's deal will be handled by me personally. Without my written authorization, no one is permitted to contact Mr. Skylar or his team on behalf of the company in any capacity. Any violations will be dealt with accordingly."

After sending it, I disbanded the group chat.

I didn't have the energy to go home and argue with Jack, so I checked into a hotel instead.

He called me again in the middle of the night. Annoyed, I swiped to answer and cut him off. "If you're calling to tell me I'm immature, then don't bother."

Jack didn't argue with me. Instead, his voice was filled with panic when he said, "Where are you? Your mom fell and hurt her leg. She's at the hospital now, and the doctor says she needs surgery."

"Which hospital? I'm coming right now!" My heart dropped. I grabbed my car keys and rushed out.

Jack gave me the address, then added hesitantly, "About the medical bills—"

I cut him off irritably, "Use the joint family account first!"

…

I sped all the way to the hospital.

Dad was standing outside the operating room. His eyes were red when he spoke. "Jack said you threw a tantrum and didn't come home. Your mom got worried and went to look for you. That's when she fell.

"She's still in surgery. The doctor said it's a fractured femur. They have to operate immediately, or she may never walk again."

Ignoring my darkening expression, Jack tugged at my sleeve. "The surgery costs 150 thousand dollars, Suzie. We—"

"Don't worry about the money!" I pulled out my phone, ready to make the transfer.

Just then, the doors to the operating room swung open.

A nurse walked out and looked at us somberly. "Which one of you is Suzanna?"

My heart sank. "I am."

The nurse's gaze landed on me momentarily. Then, she walked over, her expression stern.

"The patient is refusing surgery and insisting on seeing you," she said. " She says there's something about your husband she has to tell you before the surgery."

…

In the holding area of the operating room, Mom was drenched in cold sweat from the pain. But her grip on my wrist was surprisingly strong.

She said, "Something's up with Jack, Suzie. I ran into him at the entrance of our neighborhood when I went out to look for you.

"Mr. Lewis from your company handed him a card with 300 thousand dollars inside and told him to find a chance to slip fabricated evidence of you taking kickbacks from a client into your bag. Then, the company would call the police and ruin you for good.

She continued, "I wanted to stop them, but I slipped and fell down the steps."

My mind went blank at once. I feel my head spinning.

Our five years of marriage were only worth 300 thousand dollars.

Why would Jack do this to me?

"Alright, Mom." I swallowed the rage burning in my chest and tucked the blanket around her. "Don't think too much and just go into surgery. Keep this to yourself and don't tell anyone, especially Jack."

Just as I stepped out of the operating room, Jack rushed forward and asked in a concerned tone, "How's Mom? The surgery—"

I lifted my hand and slapped him across the face. "Where were you planning to hide the fabricated evidence that says I took kickbacks, Jack?"

Stunned, Jack stared at me in disbelief. But his usual gentleness disappeared almost instantly.

"Now that you've known about it, you shouldn't blame me for doing this." He rubbed his cheek and scoffed, utterly unashamed.

"Don't act like you're the victim," he added. "I've been playing the role of your live-in nanny for five years so that you could shine out there. I'm sick of it!

"Mr. Lewis promised that if I could get you to hand over Mr. Skylar's deal, he'd give me 300 thousand and a job as logistics manager. Daniel needs a father he can be proud of, not a useless one who only knows how to grill fish!"

I looked at the unfamiliar look of greed on Jack's face and wiped my tears with a smile.

"William is a sly old fox," I said. "He's willing to come after me just to save a few million in commissions. Do you really think he'll keep his promises to you? And do you think it's so easy to frame me for kickbacks?"

Jack looked smug as he lowered his voice. "I have the 50 thousand dollars you kept in the safe in your study, as well as the blank expense reimbursement forms you misplaced.

"Be smart and hand Mr. Skylar's contract over to Mandy. Otherwise, Mr. Lewis will call the police, and you'll go to prison. When that happens, Daniel will have a mother with a criminal record. How is he going to live his life?"

I was utterly disappointed when Jack started threatening me using Daniel.

"Get out!" I yelled, pointing at the elevator.

Jack straightened his collar and waved casually. "See you at 9:00 am tomorrow in the office. Don't let me down, honey."

He deliberately emphasized the word "honey" before turning and walking away.

I sank to the floor, finally letting my tears fall.

My phone buzzed. William had sent a voice message in the company-wide group chat. "I'm calling for a town hall meeting tomorrow at 9:00 am. We will be addressing serious violations by certain senior executives. The company will not tolerate misconduct."

I stared at the message and recalled Jake's cold betrayal.

Then, I sent a text to Mr. Skylar. "There's something I'd like to flag for you regarding the 50-million deal and the subcontractor involved, Mr. Skylar. Tomorrow at 9:00 am, I invite you to come to our company for a little show. After all, your money doesn't grow on trees."

The conference room was already packed early the next morning.

Mandy was sitting in my seat, gazing at William with open admiration. Even Jack was there, boldly sitting right in the front row.

The moment I walked in, all eyes turned toward me.

"Well, look who finally showed up. I thought you'd be too embarrassed to come." William sneered. "Since everyone's here, care to explain about how you abused your position to take kickbacks from clients and even stashed company funds at home?"

He waved a hand, and Jack immediately stood up to place a document envelope on the table.

"Hello, everyone," Jack said. "I'm Suzanna's husband. Inside this envelope is the cash she hid in the safe at home, and the draft copies of the fake expense claims she prepared.

"She always complained at home that the company's commissions were too low and said she'd make up for it by skimming from deals. I tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn't listen. I couldn't just stand by and watch her keep going down the wrong path."

The room erupted as soon as he finished speaking.

"Even her husband is testifying against her. Surely it has to be true!"

"Wow, you can never judge a book by its cover. She always looks like she has her own principles, but turns out her hands are filthy."

"How big do you think the kickbacks for a 50-million-dollar deal were? No wonder she wasn't impressed by her bonus."

Mandy stood up, eyes red and looking devastated. "Mr. Lewis has always treated you well, Suzie. He trusted you with the most important projects. How could you betray the company like this?

"Someone from Mr. Skylar's side just called me earlier. They said you extorted him last night, told him you'd tank the contract unless he paid you extra. That's just too greedy!"

Accusation piled on one after another. By then, everyone in the room was looking at me with open anger and contempt.

William took the opportunity when the heat was at its highest and slammed his hand on the table. "We have witnesses and evidence, Suzanna. What else do you have to say?"

"For the sake of your years with the company, I won't call the police. We'll put this behind us as long as you voluntarily resign as the sales director, hand over all client files, and admit your mistakes. Otherwise…"

His tone hardened. "Even if you're our top performer, I'll handle this strictly by the book and make sure you spend your years behind bars!"

William then slapped a Notice of Termination for Cause down in front of me.

I slowly pulled out a chair and sat down, glancing at Jack. "William, when you slipped Jack that 300 thousand, did you forget one thing?"

William paled and struggled to steady his tone. "What 300 thousand? Stop making things up to change the subject!"

"You know best whether I'm making it up or not," I said, pulling out a voice recorder from my bag.

It was a habit I built from years of being in sales. I'd never go anywhere without it. "Jack, you just said this cash came from the safe at home?"

Jack stiffened, then answered firmly, "That's right! It's on the third shelf."

I then turned to Mandy and smiled. "You said Mr. Skylar called you? Do you want to repeat what he said?"

"Stop twisting things, Suzanna!" William yelled, sensing the tide turning. "No matter what, you're signing this today! Whether you want it or not! Security, hold her down!"

The security guards immediately grabbed me, forcing my head onto the conference table, and reached for the recorder in my hand.

At that moment, the door to the conference room was pushed open. "You've put on quite the show, Mr. Lewis. Let her go!"