Chapter 3

After Jason bled the company dry, Yuna suffered a massive stroke from the shock and ended up bedridden.

Jason refused to pay a single cent for her medical bills and simply abandoned her in a cold hospital room to die.

"I won't apologize."

My voice was icy.

"And starting tomorrow, I'm going back to the office."

Jason's expression finally changed.

"Claire, what are you talking about? You haven't been involved with the company in three years. What do you think you're going to accomplish?"

"What am I going to accomplish?"

I looked at him, a mocking smile tugging at the corner of my lips.

"I'm going back to audit the books."

Jason's eyes widened sharply.

Yuna shot to her feet and jabbed a finger at my face.

"You ungrateful little brat! Are you trying to kill me?"

She suddenly clutched her chest, her face draining of color as she collapsed onto the sofa.

"Mrs. Sharp!"

Denise let out a shrill cry and rushed to her side.

Jason hurried to grab her heart medication.

The living room erupted into chaos.

I watched Yuna's pathetic performance with cold indifference before turning and heading upstairs.

Behind me, Jason's voice rang out, his anger barely contained.

"Claire, just apologize to me and we can put all of this behind us."

…

Early the next morning, I pushed open the door to the general manager's office at Sharp Group.

The sight that greeted me instantly turned my expression cold.

Jason was sitting behind the large executive desk that belonged to me.

Denise, meanwhile, was perched shamelessly on the edge of my desk, touching up her makeup with my limited-edition lipstick.

Hearing the door open, they both looked up.

Instead of getting down, Denise smiled at me provocatively.

"Claire, you actually came? Jason said you're not in the best state of mind lately and should be resting at home."

I walked over to the desk, snatched the lipstick out of Denise's hand, and tossed it straight into the trash.

"Who gave you permission to come into my office?"

Denise gasped and turned to Jason with teary eyes.

"Jason, did you see that..."

Jason rose to his feet, his brow furrowing.

"Claire, are you done making a scene? Denise is my executive assistant now. Of course she has every right to be in this office."

I pointed toward the sign outside the door.

"Jason, are you blind? It says General Manager's Office. I'm the general manager. You're just the deputy.

"Since when do you get to bring an outsider in and let her take over my office?"

Jason sighed, looking at me as though I were an unreasonable child.

"Claire, this isn't a game. You've been away from the company for three years. There are a lot of things you don't understand anymore.

"We're about to sign the Southside development deal. Don't make trouble at a time like this."

I looked at his righteous expression and laughed to myself.

The Southside development project was the first step in his plan to bleed Sharp Group dry.

He deliberately inflated the budget, then funneled the money into a shell company he'd secretly set up.

"Whether I understand the business or not isn't for you to decide."

I pulled out the chair and sat down.

"Now take your so-called best friend and get out of my office."

Jason's face darkened completely.

"Claire, don't push me."

He stepped closer, lowering his voice.

"Do you really think this company is still what it was when your father was alive? How many people on the board do you think still recognize you as the heiress?"