Chapter 5

Belinda scoffed, not a shred of concern in her voice.

"Your things? Ms. Fox, do you even remember who you are? You were a nobody clerk. You married CEO Henson—that's the only reason you ever got to wear jewelry worth tens of millions or touch gowns worth millions."

"You're so obsessed with money you can't even buy milk tea without spending CEO Henson's cash. Who's to say you won't turn around and sell off the jewelry, the accessories, the luxury goods he gave you?"

"As CEO Henson's secretary, it's my duty to protect his assets. So from now on, unless I give you permission, don't even think about touching any of it."

"Belinda Swanson! You've gone too far!"

I was shaking with rage.

"Too far?"

She laughed, light and unbothered.

"Oh, that reminds me. I hear your mother is still staying at the hospital our CEO Henson invested in? Right? Honestly—a broke little woman saddled with a bloodsucking wreck of a mother."

"She's been sick for how many years now? Who knows how much of CEO Henson's money she's wasted. So, to keep his money from being thrown away any further, I had someone escort your mother out."

The room tilted. My knees nearly buckled and I couldn't stop shaking, couldn't think past the roaring in my ears. I screamed into the phone.

"Belinda Swanson! Have you lost your mind?! My mother can't leave her oxygen chamber! What you've done is murder!"

I hung up and threw myself into the car, racing straight to the hospital.

That was when I found out: Belinda had taken my mother's VIP suite and given it to her own mother.

Some of the hospital's senior staff were people I'd promoted years ago—they'd gotten my mother into a new room just in time, close enough to disaster that I couldn't breathe when I heard.

Looking at my mother's colorless face, I couldn't hold back anymore.

I turned to Attorney Pierce.

"Throw Belinda Swanson's mother out onto the street."

"Every dollar I ever spent paying off that woman's loans, every cent I covered for her mother's medical bills, I want it all back."

"And I'm pressing charges against Belinda Swanson. Attempted murder."

I tucked the blanket tighter around my mother's shoulders.

By the time I stood up, I was calm again.

"Take me to the company."

"Since the ingrates I fed with my own hands have shown their teeth, I'll rip them out myself."

The moment I walked into Sterling Group, the employees who recognized me stared with a mix of shock and barely concealed gossip.

"What's Ms. Fox doing here?"

"You think she found out about CEO Henson? Came here to make a scene?"

"She's a housewife. How's she going to fight CEO Henson? If you ask me, she'd be better off looking the other way. At least she'd still get to live like a rich man's wife."

I kept my eyes straight ahead. None of it reached me.

I was heading straight for Fergus's office when someone stepped in front of me.

A young woman I'd never seen before, looking me up and down with open contempt.

"This area isn't for people like you to just waltz into. Get out."

A nearby employee rushed over to explain.

"Chloe, that's Ms. Fox! Let her through—"

But the girl called Chloe didn't flinch.

She gave me a slow once-over, then smirked.

"So you're the wife? This old? No wonder CEO Henson can't stand you anymore."

"This is a company, not somewhere for you to come make a scene. You'd better run home before CEO Henson gets here—unless you want him to dump you for real."

Murmurs rippled through the staff around us. Eyes landed on me, some pitying, some hungry for the show.

I let out a cold laugh, signaled my bodyguard to pin her, and slapped her across the face.