The Day a Counterfeit Heiress Ruined My Rise

I let out a cold laugh and pushed aside the colleague shielding her. Reaching out, I gently straightened her collar."Yvette, speculating about me doesn't make you look any more respectable. If I were the team lead, you wouldn't even have passed your internship."Yvette quickly countered, "But I'm the team lead now!""You can't even use a printer, drove away a client, and caused the company to lose a contract worth millions of dollars while making me take the blame. What gives you the right to be a team lead?"My accusation left her eyes red with anger. She sniffed and stepped back, and someone immediately came forward to defend her.Preston pulled her into his arms protectively, glaring at me with disapproval. "How dare you speak to Ms. Saccone like that? If you don't want to work here, just say so!"He held Yvette gently, comforting her and wiping away her tears. His gaze toward me remained cold and indifferent.Cassandra quickly joined the attack. "Annabeth, you made mistakes

The faint scent of perfume lingered near my face. When I turned, I saw long curled lashes and familiar features. It was Yvette who had saved me. She took my hand and led me into a quiet alley, panting as she asked if I was hurt."Cassandra was fired for taking kickbacks. If you go out now, you're done for! Stay here and wait for me. I'll distract her!"Before I could respond, she lifted the hem of her skirt and hurried off. Sure enough, voices could soon be heard in the distance.Why would Yvette save me?Just as the question formed in my mind, several vagrants with lecherous expressions appeared at the entrance of the alley.It was a dead end. I kept retreating, but there was nowhere to escape.Looking past the men, I saw Yvette standing at the alley's entrance. She held up her phone and recorded my humiliation while speaking to someone on the screen."I can't believe how stupid she is! How could she trust me after she's gotten on my bad side? What do you have to say about th

Timothy dared not offend me. Just as he was about to speak, Preston's arrogant laughter interrupted him. He looked at me with disdain, pointing at the slight tear in my clothing."A so-called heiress is wearing bargain clothes from a thrift store, hoarding garbage bags, living in a rented apartment, and sharing meals to save money. This is the first time I've seen anything like it!"Preston knew me well and quickly exposed my spending habits to everyone present. What he didn't know was that I had done it all deliberately."I joined the company for experience, not to show off. What's wrong with dressing simply to blend in? And I live in a house I bought in full, a valuable old property downtown. It's not some run-down rental."When I explained myself, no one believed me.Preston was especially smug, laughing and applauding sarcastically as he praised me for my imagination.Influenced by him, Mitchell scolded me with frustration. "There's a limit to lying. You've been in this compa

My gaze drifted to the stain on his sleeve. The sour smell made it obvious that it was dried vomit, and only then did I remember the rumors.They said Yvette's condition had worsened and that she had lost control of her bodily functions a few days ago. Preston had been taking care of her day and night.Judging by the stain on his clothes, the rumors were true, and he had chosen the wrong side.Three days earlier, the entire company had crowded around me, apologizing so dramatically that the firm next door nearly reported us for staging some kind of cult ceremony. It had taken the police showing up to calm things down.After that, the public theatrics stopped and were replaced by quieter attempts to curry favor.Meanwhile, I had firmly taken my seat as general manager.After the morning meeting, I returned to my office and said to Mitchell, "Review the layoff list I gave you. You can notify them tomorrow. As for Preston, he has his own placement."Mitchell wiped sweat from his fo