Chapter 2

The next morning, the moment I walked into the office, I saw Freya sitting at my desk.

Everything that had been on it had been thrown into a corner, scattered all over the floor in a mess.

Freya sat in my chair with her legs crossed and announced loudly, “From now on, I’m in charge of this department. Naturally, the project lead position belongs to me too.”

The anger I had held in all night surged up at once.

I was just about to snap when Chuck walked in.

“Freya is a senior executive sent over by headquarters. From now on, all projects in this department will be handled by her.”

Then he looked at me.

“Bailey, because of the staffing change, I’ve moved your seat. Your new desk is over there.”

He pointed to a dusty, broken-down desk beside the trash can in the corner.

There wasn’t even a computer on it.

“I’m not moving.”

I looked straight at Chuck and Freya, refusing to back down.

“I’ve been handling every project and every task in this department from the start. Sitting here makes it easier for me to communicate with the team. What gives her the right to take my desk just because she says so?”

Freya shot to her feet and raised her voice.

“Because I’m the CEO’s biological sister. I’m the heiress of this family.

“I’m warning you. If you don’t give up this seat today, I’ll have William shut down this entire branch tomorrow. Then every single one of you can pack up and leave.”

The second Chuck heard the words “shut down,” his face went pale.

“Bailey, stop making a scene. It’s just a desk. Is it really worth all this?”

As he spoke, he picked up the things Freya had thrown on the floor and shoved them into my arms.

“How about this? I’ll help you clean up and get you a proper setup. Is that good enough? If you keep this up, you’ll just make things ugly for everyone.”

I looked at him coldly and said each word clearly.

“I said I’m not moving.”

“If she insists on taking my desk today, I’ll hand in my resignation right now.”

Chuck finally lost his temper. He pointed at me and threatened me sharply.

“If you keep causing trouble, don’t even think about getting a single cent of the bonus from this project.”

I was so angry I laughed.

“I led this project from beginning to end. For an entire year, I worked overtime every night and barely slept six hours a day. This project doubled the company’s revenue, and headquarters personally praised our team for it.

“Now this fraud who did absolutely nothing is stealing my credit. Are you planning to give her my bonus too?”

My words stirred the rest of the office.

One by one, my coworkers stood up.

“Bailey is right. This project was our whole team’s work. Why should some new girl get to steal the credit?”

“That bonus is what we earned. How can you just take it away?”

“If Bailey leaves, we’re leaving too.”

One after another, the entire department rose to their feet.

Looking at the coworkers who had fought beside me for so long, I felt an unexpected wave of emotion rise in my chest.

Freya’s face turned bright red.

“You think quitting will solve anything? My brother is the CEO of the entire group. With one word from me, none of you will ever find another job in this industry again.”

There she went again, using her so-called CEO brother to scare everyone.

I sneered.

“You keep saying your brother is the CEO. But in the end, is that one photo the only proof you have?”

Freya glared at me.

Then she reached up and yanked the pendant necklace from her neck.

“Open your eyes and look carefully. This is my family’s heirloom.

“It has our family crest engraved on it. There are only two of these in the entire world.”

I stepped closer.

My brows drew together.

The pendant was real.

When William and I were born, our parents had a world-famous jeweler custom-make two pendants for us. They were meant to represent our place in the family.

Only two existed in the world.

But they weren’t identical.

William had the men’s version.

I had the women’s version.

And the one Freya was clutching was clearly William’s.

How did she get that?

When Chuck saw the pendant, he became even more convinced of her identity.

“Now do you all believe her? Stop being unreasonable and get back to your desks.

“Otherwise, I’ll suspend every one of you.”

I looked quietly at the man in front of me.

He had once been the person closest to me.

Now all I saw in his eyes was greed and ambition.

Suddenly, it all felt laughable.

“Do whatever you want.”

I picked up my things and turned to leave.

“Bailey! Come back here!”

I didn’t look back.

Without stopping once, I walked out of the company I had poured years of my life into.