Chapter 3

I was about to put my phone down when a text from the revenue agency popped up. It reminded me that I hadn't paid my taxes in full, and my company account would be frozen if I missed the deadline.

Then, I remembered—back when we were expanding the business, the finances were tight, and my accountant had warned me about it.

I had looked at the timeline and thought I had time, so I hadn't paid right away. Later, with so many things happening, I completely forgot about it.

Just as I was about to call the accountant, an idea struck me. If the company account got frozen, even their corporate credit cards wouldn't work.

I let out a long breath and put the phone down.

That night, I finally slept peacefully. But my sister, Sophia Lane, called in the middle of the night. She was crying, saying that our mother had suffered a brain hemorrhage while on a business trip in Slarqia and was now in the hospital.

My heart dropped, and I immediately booked the earliest flight out.

When I arrived at the airport, I ran into Harry, Zoey, and the others.

Harry saw me and sneered. "I thought you were trying to save the company money. So why did you follow us here? Apologize to Zoey in front of everyone, and we'll take you along."

I felt a wave of annoyance and shook his hand off. I was in a hurry to go to the hospital.

Harry's anger flared when I ignored him. He kicked my suitcase across the floor and yelled, "Samantha! Don't act like you can walk all over me! Since you're already here, stop throwing a tantrum. Apologize, and we could let it slide."

I slapped him, furious. "Get out of my way! My mom is in the hospital. I don't have time for you."

Harry's eyes flickered. He was about to speak, but Zoey wrapped her arm around him, pretending to be shocked, and pointed at me.

"Samantha, I don't remember your family staying in Slarqia. Are you lying about your mom so that you can follow us?" she asked.

Harry looked at me, suspicion replacing the guilt that had been on his face. Then, his expression twisted into disgust. "Samantha, you lie without batting an eye. That phony front of yours is revolting!"

Zoey raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "Exactly, Samantha. Even if you wanted to tag along, you shouldn't have dragged your mom into this!"

Livid, I swung my hand and slapped her across the face.

Zoey clutched her cheek, her eyes wide with disbelief, then burst into tears. "Samantha, I'm sorry! Don't hit me! I'll never touch your money again!"

Colleagues nearby were drawn over by her crying. Seeing what was happening, they all rushed to defend her.

"Ms. Lane, if you're unhappy with us coming, just say so. There's no reason to give Zoey a hard time."

"You're the worst kind of boss, looking down on us like we're nothing!"

Zoey buried her face in her hands, tears streaming down her cheeks.

The others' fury kept mounting, and before I knew it, someone had thrown the first punch.

Outnumbered, I had no choice but to keep backing up, retreating all the way into a luxury boutique. Suddenly, someone shoved me hard. I stumbled into a display and knocked over a decorative item.

Harry didn't flinch. He stared at me coldly and said, "People like her need to be taught a lesson."

I caught the hostility in his voice and struggled, trying to break through the crowd and run.

The others weren't letting up. They grabbed items from nearby counters and hurled them at me.

Seeing the situation, the store manager rushed over and shouted, "Stop! You'll pay for everything that's already broken or about to break!"

Zoey smirked and responded, "Don't worry about it. We can afford to pay for the damage."

The staff quickly tallied the damage, and the total came to 12 million dollars.

Harry looked completely unconcerned. "Zoey, swipe the card."

Zoey pulled out the corporate credit card smugly and swiped it. However, a cold, robotic voice rang out from the machine. "Payment declined. Insufficient balance."