Chapter 4

With only three days to go before the company went public, I certainly hadn't been twiddling my thumbs.

Dominic and his team had spent two days going over the evidence with me, scrutinizing every last detail to make sure there were no loose ends.

I burst into the nearest lottery shop and blew through all my savings, even maxing out my credit cards. In return, I walked out with several thick stacks of lottery tickets.

The first ticket I scratched was a winner. The second doubled it. The third hit the jackpot. The prize money snowballed wildly from there.

In less than half a day, my account balance had grown a dizzying string of extra zeroes.

After leaving the lottery shop, I tore through every last bit of paperwork at lightning speed. Within hours, I became the largest investor in Prima Star Tech, with a 60% stake.

When I realized there was still one day until the listing, I went and spruced myself up a bit. I bought a few professional outfits, got a spa treatment, and went home to enjoy a wonderful, restful night of sleep.

But no sooner had dawn broken than I was jolted awake by urgent knocking at my door.

Two police officers stood outside, their expressions grave.

"Ms. Eloise Holt, the head of your company has filed a report accusing you of stealing trade secrets and taking large kickbacks on projects. Please come with us to give a statement."

I nodded and gave them a preliminary statement.

They said further investigation was needed and told me to keep my phone on in case I was summoned again at any time.

After seeing the officers off, I immediately took a cab to the company.

The conference room had been transformed into a makeshift courtroom.

Spread out in front of Daniel was a pile of so-called evidence—screenshots of chat logs, transfer records, and even several witness statements stamped with fingerprints.

What chilled me even more was that among the witnesses standing behind him were two colleagues whose names had been on that very "streamline" list.

They avoided my gaze, unable to look me in the eye.

Daniel spoke up in a tone full of feigned anguish. "Eloise, I never thought you'd do something like this! But the evidence is solid, and plenty of your colleagues can vouch that you openly bragged about taking kickbacks over drinks and even treated everyone with the money.

"The company is going public tomorrow, and the new investor is about to arrive for an inspection. So, I'd rather not let this get too messy."

He slid a document toward me. "For old times' sake, if you return the five million dollars you illegally earned to the company and sign this non-compete agreement, I won't pursue legal action against you."

I just stared at the agreement on the table, finding it utterly absurd.

Five million dollars? It seemed he couldn't fill the funding gap before the listing and wanted to bleed me dry one last time, then kick me out.

"I have never taken a single cent in kickbacks. If you want to sue me, go ahead. The law will clear my name. I will never admit to something I didn't do, let alone pay for it."

"So, you'd rather take the hard way out, huh? Who do you think you are? You really think you're hot stuff just because you lucked your way into a job?"

Daniel slammed the table so hard that the coffee mug beside him jumped.

"You will sign this agreement whether you like it or not!" Then, he barked toward the door. "Security, hold her down and make her sign it!"

A flicker of hesitation crossed the security guard's face, but one sharp look from Daniel was enough. He came over and firmly seized my arm.

I was pinned in place, unable to move.

He then grabbed my right hand and forced it down toward the agreement.

Just then, Daniel's secretary, Wendy Kramer, burst through the door in a panic. "Daniel, someone downstairs said Ms. Holt has already come up!"

"Ms. Holt? Who—"

Then, it hit him. He looked up with utter disbelief, then immediately told the security guard to let me go.

I slowly stood up and straightened my cuffs.

"Daniel, I'm the major investor you've been waiting for. From today onward, not only am I your former employee, but I'm also the new owner of this company."