Chapter 2

The dried streaks on my cheeks were once again wet by a new bout of fresh tears.

After a long time, I raised my phone with shaking hands and dialed Noah's number.

"Noah, I fell in love with the wrong person. You can go ahead and rescind your investment, then get Starlight back. I'll return in a week for the arranged marriage."

…

The next day, the company held a meeting in its conference room. Along both sides of the long table sat a row of stony-faced shareholders.

Meanwhile, Hendrick, seated at the head of the table, furrowed his brow in a deep frown. Slightly off to the side behind him was Selena, her eyes lowered demurely as she sat there quietly.

Liam Carlton was the first to speak up. He slammed a document onto the table loudly and asked, "Hendrick Shaw, you'd better give us an explanation for this!

"On the biggest sales day of the year, a one-carat diamond was sold off at a mere one cent! 200 million dollars, gone in an instant, just like that!

"How did such a ridiculous, basic mistake happen? Is the company's risk control system simply for show?"

"Mr. Carlton, please calm down first…" Hendrick tried to placate the irate man.

"Calm down? That's a whopping 200 million dollars, not two!" Another shareholder smacked the table and leaped to his feet. "If you don't tell us who was responsible for this mistake today, we definitely won't let this matter go!"

The atmosphere in the conference room was tense as everyone's gaze was focused on Hendrick.

I took a deep breath, ready to reveal the truth about how Selena was the culprit behind this major loss.

Before I could say a word, the manager of the public relations department suddenly barged in. His face was deathly pale as he raised his tablet and cried, "Mr. Shaw, bad news! An uproar has broken out online!"

The next moment, the trending topics on Twitter had been projected onto the large screen.

"Breaking news! Noelle Turner, fiancee of Henelle Technologies' CEO, deliberately caused the company to lose 200 million dollars out of jealousy over a favored assistant!"

The post went on to reveal in detail how I had supposedly been overcome by personal dissatisfaction and used my position to change the diamond's price from the backend. All this was just a scheme to get revenge on Hendrick and Selena.

Attached were several blurry screenshots of the so-called evidence, along with some leaked information from "anonymous" employees.

The comments section had long since exploded, with the netizens all lambasting me for being a wicked and ruthless superior.

My mind went blank as I stiffly turned to Hendrick.

"Noelle Turner, you did this!" Liam pointed a finger at me, utterly incensed. "Because of your jealousy, the company has suffered such a significant loss, both financially and reputation-wise!"

"It wasn't me!" I immediately protested. "This is slander! The real culprit of this incident is—"

"Enough!" Hendrick swiftly cut me off, a complex look in his eyes. "Now that the incident has already happened, we should be focusing on how to calm the public opinion and restore the company's reputation!

"Noelle Turner, you're temporarily banned from getting involved in any of the company's matters."

I stared at him in disbelief. "Hendrick, how could you…"

"Please escort Ms. Turner to the warehouse so she can calm down."

He avoided my gaze, instead turning to give orders to the security guards already waiting at the door.

The two security guards instantly stepped forward to grab me, one on each side. No matter how hard I struggled, they never released their grip on me. Eventually, I was dragged all the way to the company's warehouse.

The pitch-black darkness of the warehouse yawned before me, causing the fear hiding deep within me to roar to life.

Clutching the doorframe in a death grip, I yelled in a voice twisted with terror, "Hendrick, you know I have claustrophobia! I'll die if you lock me up in here!"

Hendrick stood several steps away from me, his lips pursed. Nevertheless, he didn't say a word.

It was Selena who strolled over to me, not at all hiding the smug delight and mockery on her face.

"Where's all that fierceness from yesterday, when you wanted to make me take responsibility? Too bad for you! Rick had already prepared from the beginning for you to take the fall for this incident."

My gaze locked onto Hendrick as I uttered, "Why?"

At last, Hendrick looked up at me and replied coldly, his voice indifferent, "Selena has only just entered the workforce, so she can't afford such a stain on her resume. She still has a long future ahead of her—"

"So what?" I interrupted him icily, though I still couldn't stop my voice from shaking. "Then it's okay for a

200-million-dollar operational blunder to suddenly appear on my resume?"