LOGINI didn't bother responding and walked straight to the bidding area.A thought nagged at my mind about the badges pinned to Celine and Chloe's arms, and it wasn't until I sat down that I finally realized why the logo looked so familiar.I actually knew that company, and not in a good way. It had a notorious reputation. On the surface, it looked just like any other legitimate business. They had real projects, real overtime, and real performance reviews.But once the timing was right, that company would offer employees a "team-building trip" and traffic them straight to a country called Kavros.The police had investigated them more than once, but the company just kept changing its name and reopening under new ones. The one thing that never changed was the logo.Celine and Mia thought they'd found the best jobs either of them would ever get. They had no idea they were about to become victims themselves.On the drive home, I thought it over for a long while before finally calling Celi
"Ethan Caldwell! You hid who you really were from the start! What exactly were you planning?"Oh, I get it now! Having my aunt wasn't enough for you, so now you're trying to go after me to get my attention- is that it? Fine! I'll go along with it! Can we please stop all this drama now!"Then, she turned and started fake-comforting Celine. "Don't worry, Aunt Celine. I'll take good care of him for you."I nearly gagged. Had something possessed this girl? How could she say something so delusional with a straight face?I rubbed my temples, fighting down the urge to actually throw up. "Mia, I told you exactly who I was from the start. You just didn't believe me. Everything that happened after that is on you. Celine, you have three seconds to get out of my sight, or I'm taking this to court. I don't think you want to spend the rest of your life running a sewing machine in prison."I turned a cold eye on the rest of the interns. "That goes for all of you too. Get out."Despite all the c
So, that's how it was. It turned out that Celine had been planning to claim my company as her own before we were even married. Maybe my friends were right all along. I was good at building a company, but had terrible judgment when it came to choosing the right woman.Back when I first started this company, I gave Celine the VP position out of respect for how long we'd been together, even though she wasn't particularly capable.Over the years, plenty of people had come to me, warning me that she was overstepping and planting her own people throughout the company. I'd trusted her enough to never look into it.Now, seeing all this unfold, there wasn't much left to investigate. She'd been working against me from the very start, and I never saw it coming.Right then, Chloe handed me a report straight from HR. Every intern in this group, except for Leo, had been personally planted by Celine. Her plan was clear. Marry me, then slowly strip away my control until the company carried her nam
"My aunt is on her way right now! Once she gets here, you can all get down on your knees and beg, and it still won't save you!" Mia snapped.Chloe kept glancing at me, clearly worried I might be in real danger. I gave her a look to let her know I was fine.If I couldn't even stand my ground in my own company, I might as well shut the whole thing down. I had too much pride for that. Besides, I was genuinely curious who Mia's aunt was, and why she had the confidence to act like this.A few minutes later, footsteps echoed from the hallway.Mia bolted for the door. "Aunt Celine! You're finally here! A security guard and Chloe teamed up to bully me! That guard actually tried to pretend he was the CEO! We can't let someone like that stay with the company!"A voice rang out from the doorway, "That's outrageous! Someone's bullying you in my own company? Fire them immediately and make sure they never work in this industry again. Mia, don't worry. Starting today, they'll have nothing but ha
I looked coldly around the room. "Ms. White, tell HR that everyone here is fired, blacklisted, and banned from this industry. Except for him."I pointed at Leo. "Move him into one of the core departments. I want him trained up properly."Chloe nodded calmly and immediately posted the news in the company group chat before turning to address the room."You've all just been fired by the CEO. Please leave immediately. If you don't, I'll have security escort you out myself."The color drained from every face in the room."Mia... What is going on? Didn't you say this company belonged to your family?""Yeah! Why is Ms. White firing us over some security guard?""Wait. Didn't Ms. White just call him the CEO?"Mia's face went bright red. She stammered, "Chloe, there's... there's some kind of mistake here. My aunt is the CEO of this company. He's just a security guard."Chloe answered by kicking Mia straight to the ground. "You think you get to insult the CEO? Open your eyes, Mia. Mr. C
"This trash obviously wants to get close to the CEO. Bet he only got this security job by selling himself!""Mia gave the order. We have to make this ungrateful guard apologize!"Leo still had some sense left and tried desperately to stop them. "This is illegal! Even if Mia's aunt really is the CEO, you can't treat someone like this!"But nobody listened to him. He got shoved to the ground almost instantly.I pulled out my phone to call security, but Mia snatched it out of my hand and smashed it on the floor."Trash, who were you calling? Some old woman to come save you? Too late for that. In this company, what I say goes. I'm the law here."I couldn't stand her reckless behavior for one more second. She had a good education, sure, but her character was rotten. She needed to be fired and blacklisted immediately. And every intern who'd helped her today was never getting hired.Before the rest of them could pile on, I kicked Mia hard in the stomach and yanked the door open. I'd pl







