Chapter 4

I asked her where the documents were and told her to bring them to the office.

Then, I asked if she had booked the hotel yet. I needed to travel for work.

She pieced the screenshots together to make a full conversation.

[Booked the hotel yet?]

[No.]

[Come to the office now.]

With just a few words, I became a crazed monster who could not even keep his hands to himself at work.

The real smoking gun was the surveillance footage Lilith released.

Her worn stockings were found in my office.

“Lucian Stone forced me! He’s a pervert who gropes me every day!”

Lilith looked utterly wronged. She lied without a hint of shame.

“He said I looked good in form-fitting skirts and stockings. He forced me to wear revealing clothes. The slightest refusal earned me verbal abuse!”

Public outrage erupted instantly.

Tens of thousands of comments flooded the forums, all condemning me.

[That old geezer has lost his mind. Her brain’s gone haywire!]

[How did he even become a manager? This needs a thorough investigation!]

My blood ran cold.

At Lilith’s behest, my entire family background was exposed.

My mother was attacked while grocery shopping and remained unconscious in the hospital.

My father-in-law suffered a heart attack from the shock and called to rage at me.

“Lucian Stone, my daughter is my princess! She won’t tolerate this humiliation!

“If you’re cheating on her, prepare to lose your family and be stripped of everything!”

Struck dumb, I tried to explain. Then, I received messages from colleagues severing ties.

Even high school friends came asking if I had lost my integrity or if that female intern had truly seduced me.

I learned what it meant to be utterly defenseless.

When I stormed into the company, Lilith was already waiting.

Surrounded by the group of interns, she looked at me with haughty disdain.

“Thank me, Mr. Stone. This is the most glorious day of your life.”

She flashed a taunting smile with her arms crossed. She was perfectly composed.

“I’ll give you one last chance. Pay $700,000, hire a lawyer to drop the charges, resign in disgrace, post a public apology video admitting your repeated harassment of me, and compensate me $5,000,000 for emotional distress.

“Once you complete all of these requests, I’ll delete the post and reluctantly settle this peacefully with you.

“Fail to do so, and you’d better prepare to perish!”

Lilith burst into laughter.

I clenched my fists and uttered only one phrase.

“Get lost!”

The laughter abruptly ceased. I shut the office door while ignoring the furious shouts outside.

The evidence had been prepared long ago.

I had official invoices stamped with the company seal, surveillance footage of the interns violating labor laws, videos of Lilith spreading rumors during her livestreams, and recordings of her publicly blackmailing me.

“Police? I’m reporting this. Someone is orchestrating a cyberbullying campaign to try to ruin my reputation.”

After calling the police, Jack, who had been waiting patiently, slipped inside.

“Lilith embezzled company funds and accepted bribes. That Baline boutique hotel was under her father.”

I laid out the evidence my lawyer had uncovered before Jack.

Years ago, Lilith had already been exploiting her position to funnel customers to the hotel. Through inducing excessive spending, she earned hefty rebates.

“Embezzlement is a criminal offense. The company won’t cover for her. $700,000 isn’t a small sum. If we dig deep enough, you’ll go to jail too. Jail time or getting your internship converted to full-time? It’s your choice.”

Jack’s face went pale, and his muscles twitched.

He gasped and opened an encrypted video.

“I secretly recorded this. I meant to keep it as a keepsake.”

Lilith’s sickly-sweet voice echoed through the screen.

“Folks, don’t hold back. Go for the priciest options!

“I upgraded your hotel rooms. Since you’re traveling abroad, you deserve the presidential suite!

“Going over budget? No big deal. Lucian has us covered. He wants me, so he should cough up more money, right?

“Men are all the same. The more you push them, the more obedient they get. He’s such a fake prude. It’s just a deeper level of communication, so what’s there to run from?”

The recording ended, and I smirked.

Lilith’s time was finally up!