Chapter 4

I stared at Dad, whose expression was dark with fury, in disbelief.

He growled under his breath, "You shameless, ungrateful brat! Go out and ask around. What other parents would treat their child as well as we have? We gave you a job so you could gain experience, and we even paid you a salary.

"It's one thing for you to be ungrateful. How dare you turn around and accuse us of being heartless? If we were really heartless, we'd have drowned you the day you were born!"

I'd actually known the answer to my parents' blatant favoritism deep down in my heart. It was only at that moment that I finally faced the truth.

I was nothing more than an extra child my parents had conceived in their efforts to have a son.

Maybe I was never supposed to exist in the first place. That also explained why they had always turned a blind eye to everything I did, even when I'd worked so desperately to prove my worth and earn their approval.

It was something I should have realized when I was 12, yet I didn't understand it until I was 25.

Thankfully, my realization didn't come too late. From now on, I no longer needed their approval.

I stood up, stuffed the few clothes I owned into a bag, and slung it over my shoulder.

As I opened the door, Mom shouted from behind me, "If you have the guts to leave, don't ever come back!"

Hanson stopped Mom and sneered, "Let her go. Some people won't learn until they hit rock bottom. A useless person like her would probably be too stupid to even get hired to clean toilets. Once society teaches her a lesson, she'll come crawling back with her tail between her legs, begging us to take her in."

I ignored them and walked out of the house that had felt no different from a cheap motel.

The moment I reached the entrance of our residential area, I called the HR representative.

As soon as he heard that I was ready to join the company, he immediately came from home to pick me up. He arranged a dorm room for me and took care of all the onboarding procedures.

After hearing what I'd been through, he even helped me apply for a 5,000-dollar salary advance from the company.

Looking at the number on my phone, I felt dazed.

Before this, I'd had to work more than ten hours a day for over a month. I would've had to exhaust myself to the point where I could barely eat just to earn that much money.

But now, simply because this company recognized my value, they trusted me enough to advance me 5,000 dollars before I'd even worked a single day.

Only after leaving the umbrella that my family constantly held over my head did I realize there hadn't even been any rain outside.

Just then, I received a call from William Zahn, the client who had signed the 30-million-dollar order with me.

He gushed, "Helena, business has been incredible these past few days. We're almost out of materials. I want to place another order worth 50 million dollars!"

I quickly said, "I've switched companies, Mr. Zahn, and I haven't gotten familiar with my new company's products yet. How about—"

Before I could finish, William interrupted me. "There's no need. I'll order the materials from your new company. Materials are just that—materials. The quality is pretty much the same everywhere. What's most important is that I trust you. Come sign the contract with me next Monday."

After hanging up, I was so excited I nearly jumped for joy.

When my new boss heard that I'd landed a 50-million-dollar order right after joining the company, he immediately gave me a 500,000-dollar bonus, with the commission to be calculated separately.

Excited about the positive change that was finally happening in my life, I arrived at the entrance of William's company two hours early when it was time to sign the contract.

But to my surprise, I saw my parents, Hailey, and Hanson.

Mom looked delighted as she rambled, "That brat, Helena, quit without even properly handing over her work. We didn't even know Mr. Zahn was going to sign such a huge order with us. I only found out because I saw his post on social media.

"Last time he came over, he said Hanson looked just like his son! I told you our boy was popular. This time, he must have decided to renew the contract because of Hanson."

The whole family beamed as they prepared to go inside.

But then, they saw my reflection in the glass door. In an instant, their expressions turned cold.

Mom couldn't hide the smugness in her eyes. "I was wondering who it was. Well, if it isn't our star salesperson, Ms. Helena Irving? It's only been a few days, and you're already struggling out there? You heard Hanson just landed a 50-million-dollar deal, right?

"That's why you came crawling back, expecting us to just take you back, huh? How shameless."

Dad's expression was stern. He looked at me as though I were a piece of trash.

He snarled, "You shameless disgrace. Don't embarrass us at such an important occasion. Go kneel at the front door and reflect on what you've done."

But I merely glanced at them from the corner of my eye and walked straight inside. "I'm here to sign a contract. I don't have time to argue with you."

Hanson was furious.

He grabbed my clothes and demanded, "What contract are you here to sign? A labor dispatch contract to clean toilets?"

When I ignored him, he angrily raised his fist. "You bitch! You don't even know your place now!"

Just as he was about to hit me, William's secretary, Iris Alford, walked out and said, "Ms. Irving, Mr. Zahn is available now. We can sign the contract."