Chapter 5

On the third day, the company held its annual party.

More than three hundred people filled the entire banquet hall.

Karen wore a red evening gown and stood on stage hosting the event, her voice sweet and her smile polished.

"Over the past year, our company has achieved excellent results. Thank you all for your hard work..."

I sat in the corner, holding a glass of water, watching her.

"Especially our department. This year, we completed one of the company’s core projects, with a contract value of as much as twelve million dollars..."

The big screen started playing a PPT presentation, showing each department’s performance.

Karen’s department was listed at the top.

"This achievement couldn’t have been made without the trust of company leadership, and it also couldn’t have happened without every single person on the team’s effort..."

She paused and looked toward our table.

"Of course, there were also some young employees who exposed certain problems in their work. For example, unhealthy spending habits, unprofessional personal conduct, and so on. But these are all little bumps in the process of growth. I believe they will mature slowly."

Everyone’s eyes landed on me again.

I knew she was talking about me.

The big screen flipped to the next slide, which was an "Employee Spotlight" display.

It wasn’t showing performance.

It wasn’t showing work photos.

It was showing my medical report.

It said: stomach bleeding, hospitalized for treatment, advised to stay in bed for one week.

The date was two months ago, from the time I was sent to the hospital after working until three in the morning.

The hall went quiet.

Standing on stage, Karen smiled and said, "These days’ young people are really trading their lives for money. I really don’t know what they’re after.

They push their bodies beyond their limits to chase a lifestyle they can’t actually afford, and in the end, the one who suffers is still themselves."

Some people in the audience laughed along, and some lowered their heads without saying a word.

I looked at the medical report on the big screen for a long time.

Then I stood up.

The chair made a harsh screech, and everyone turned to look at me.

Karen looked at me too, her smile unchanged.

"Nina, do you have something to say?"

"Yes."

I walked onto the stage and took the microphone from her.

She stepped aside naturally, thinking I was about to say something about thanking the company.

I turned around and faced everyone.

"Manager Chen, since you care about me so much, let me tell you something."

"What is it?"

"Your husband came looking for me in a hotel room last night, and he definitely didn’t say that to comfort me."

The entire room went dead silent.

The smile on Karen’s face froze.

I looked at her.

"You thought I didn’t know?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I’m saying your husband, David Brooks, asked me to meet him at a hotel next to the company at eight last night and said he wanted to talk about ‘work arrangements.’"

"You’re lying!"

"I have the chat logs on my phone. Want to see them?"

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, opened the chat screen, and handed it to her.

On the screen, under David Brooks’s profile picture, it clearly said—

"Nina, are you free tomorrow night? Let’s talk about your next step. I’ll pick the place. It’ll be the hotel next to the company, and I’ll send you the room number later."

Time: yesterday at 3:00 p.m.

Karen’s face changed.

Her hands started to shake.

"This... this can’t be..."

"You can call him and ask."

Karen pulled out her phone and dialed David Brooks’s number.

She turned on speakerphone.

"Hello? What is it?" David’s voice came through the receiver, carrying a hint of irritation.

"Did you ask Nina to meet you at a hotel last night?"

Silence for three seconds.

"Who told you that?"

"Did you or did you not?"

"She’s lying! I didn’t!"

"Then check your phone. You messaged her at three yesterday afternoon."

Silence again.

This time, it lasted a long time.

There were more than three hundred people in the room, and no one said a word.

Karen hung up and looked up at me, her eyes red.

"You... you did this on purpose?"

"I didn’t do it on purpose. I did it deliberately."

I put my phone away and turned to face everyone.

"Manager Chen and Vice President Brooks have more than one issue. Over the past two years, they have siphoned more than three million dollars from the company through their positions."

The crowd exploded.

"Bullshit!" Karen rushed over to grab the microphone.

I dodged her and kept going.

"I have three million dollars’ worth of transaction records, chat screenshots, and client testimony, all backed up."

"Also, after the company’s travel reimbursement process was simplified, every project handled by Karen’s department had costs inflated by an average of fifteen percent. Finance can verify all of it."

Karen went insane.

She lunged at me and slapped me across the face.

I didn’t dodge.

The sharp sound spread through the entire hall.

Security rushed up and pulled her away.

She was still yelling, her voice sharp and harsh.

"You bitch! You seduced my husband and now you’re slandering me! I’m going to sue you!"

I held my face and looked down at the crowd.

"Call the police."