Chapter 4

They knew I was the Ritchie family's heiress?

Bryan Kenwood hurried over, his face plastered with a fawning smile.

"Karen's brother is such a great catch. You're so lucky. Honestly, why would you wanna keep working like a corporate slave?"

Karen?

My chest tightened painfully, but then I glanced down and realized the cardboard box was filled with my office belongings.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

Karen strutted over with a smug expression.

"What else could it mean? You're fired."

It felt like a bolt of lightning had struck me. My temples throbbed violently with rage.

Karen crossed her arms proudly, looking unbearably self-satisfied.

"Well? Aren't you happy?"

Happy?

Oh, absolutely. So happy I wanted to bite someone.

Samantha smiled as she tried to talk some sense into me.

"We already heard all about you and your husband from Karen. What married couple doesn't argue every now and then?

"Your husband treats you so well. So what if he just forgot your anniversary? Guys who are out there making big moves don't sweat the small stuff like that. You need to be more understanding and stop being so difficult."

I laughed from sheer anger. At this point, I didn't even care how many different ridiculous versions of the story that lunatic had spread around.

But if I really got fired, I'd fail my family's assessment.

After enduring all this for so long, I was only days away from finally earning the recognition of every elder in the family. And now, it was all about to be ruined by a piece of trash like her.

My body trembled with fury as I shouted at Karen.

"What exactly did I do wrong for the company to fire me? And you—what gives you the right to spread disgusting rumors about me?"

Karen shot me a disdainful glare, her face full of contempt.

"You abandoned your seriously ill, bedridden in-laws and used the money meant for their medicine to splurge on yourself. You dress yourself up every day, trying to dump the husband who's done so much for you. What company would dare keep an employee like you?"

I had no idea what method Karen used to convince everyone to believe such an absurd lie. But she'd relied on deception and manipulation to act like a tyrant here. And I absolutely would not tolerate it.

I was just about to call the police when I suddenly realized my limited-edition handbag was completely empty.

Everything else aside, the priceless gold badge was gone. That badge symbolized the Ritchie family's chosen heir.

"Karen, did you do this?"

She had crossed my absolute bottom line, and I completely lost control.

Karen flinched at my expression, the smile on her face turning stiff.

"So what if I did? That little gold badge is basically a treasured heirloom of the Kosner family. I couldn't let you waste it away.

"Oh, and I already returned your crappy bike using the receipt. I'm holding onto the money, your ID card, and your bank cards for you.

"From now on, every cent you spend has to be reported to me first. You can only use money if I approve it."

The coworkers exchanged uneasy looks, their expressions complicated. Even they seemed to think she'd gone too far.

But Karen didn't care in the slightest. That triumphant smile remained plastered across her face.

"It's not that I'm too strict. Jennifer simply doesn't understand financial management.

"She spent two hundred thousand dollars on a bicycle, hogs the Kosner family house all for herself, and left my seriously ill, bedridden parents living back in our hometown in a leaking shack.

"She even used their life-saving medical money to buy some useless little gold badge, insists on wearing designer brands, and buys expensive jewelry.

"She only earns five thousand a month. If she keeps spending like this, won't my brother end up drowning in debt and jumping off a building someday?

"Everything I'm doing is for her own good."

The coworkers around us immediately started chiming in again, trying to persuade me.

No matter how I explained things, I'd still be wrong. So in the end, I chose silence.

Strangely, once my anger reached its limit, I became completely calm instead.

I took out my phone and quickly sent a message.

Three minutes later, the office doors were suddenly kicked open with a loud bang.