Chapter 2

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 and botched projects when you first joined the company too! Don't act like you're the most capable person in the world!"

Even Mitchell, who rarely bothered to explain himself, spoke up for Yvette.

"That's enough. Give her a break. Yvette is younger and smarter than you. If you still want to stay in this company, you shouldn't get on your superior's bad side."

I suppressed the emotions threatening to spiral out of control and tried to leave, but Yvette suddenly grabbed my arm.

Her reddened eyes locked onto mine. "Annabeth, did I say you could leave? If you need a reason, it's because this company is a subsidiary of Saccone Group. My father is the chairman of Saccone Group. If you want to keep working here, you need to apologize to me!"

I frowned. "If your father is the chairman of Saccone Group, then what is his name?"

My grandfather's last name was Saccone, and my grandmother's last name was Hudson. Thus, my father's name was a combination of his parents' last names, Hudson Saccone.

I, on the other hand, had inherited my grandmother's last name, which often left people curious about my identity.

The moment I spoke, Yvette, who had been brimming with arrogance, fell silent.

She stammered, unable to answer. After all, many of those present had business dealings with Saccone Group.

I let out a cold laugh. "What kind of daughter doesn't even know her own father's name? I think you're the imposter here."

She burst into tears, sobbing pitifully. Her tears fell onto her scarf like a broken string of pearls.

"Annabeth, you can accuse me of stealing your clients or criticize my inexperience, but you can't insult my dad! I will never disclose his personal information just to satisfy someone's ulterior motives!"

Her performance was so convincing that I staggered back in disbelief. Just as I was about to reveal my identity and expose her lies, I remembered the promise I had made when I left home.

Yvette was right. The Saccone family had no intention of raising an armchair strategist for an heir.

Dad had stripped me of my privileges and sent me to this subsidiary, ordering me to earn 100 million dollars within ten years.

Over the years, I had worked tirelessly, not merely for promotions or raises. One day, I would stand at the annual meeting of Saccone Group as the newly promoted team lead of a subsidiary, relying solely on my own strength.

In the end, I compromised. I apologized to diffuse the situation, but as I straightened, I accidentally brushed against Yvette.

She suddenly cried out, staggering backward as she clutched her stomach. "My stomach! My baby! Annabeth, you've gone too far! I tried to help you, and you pushed me. Don't you know I'm pregnant?"

Her shrill cry rippled through the room, giving cause to the previously unsubstantiated blame.