Chapter 4

He was looking at me, his eyes showing no astonishment or disdain, but rather admiration and praise.

He even subtly raised his glass to me, forming a word with his lips.

I understood what he said.

"Well done!"

After returning from the charity gala, Mom, Dad, and my relationship was at an all-time low.

But I wasn't idle; I proposed joining the family company to familiarize myself with the business.

Dad exploded when he heard this.

"What are you going to do at the company? Haven't you caused enough trouble already?"

"With your personality, you'll only offend all our clients and shareholders! The Sterling legacy cannot be ruined by you!"

I didn't back down.

"I have inheritance rights. The company will eventually be mine, so it's only right that I go check it out!"

"If you firmly refuse to let me go, then I'll see you in court!"

"Someone doesn't have to die for us to fight over inheritance!"

Dad's face turned ashen with anger, but he knew I meant what I said, so he eventually conceded.

"Fine! I'll take you! But I'm warning you, don't interfere with anything!"

I followed him into the top-floor conference room of Sterling Group.

The Business Director was presenting an important collaboration proposal.

He spoke glowingly, painting a beautiful picture of future profits.

I listened for less than five minutes before raising my hand to interrupt.

"Stop!"

Everyone looked at me.

I stared at the bewildered director.

"You just said the client feedback was excellent, but your speech rate was twenty percent faster than average, and you subconsciously touched your nose. Classic signs of lying."

I picked up the project proposal in front of him, quickly flipped to a page, and pointed to a data point.

"The projected market growth rate is three times higher than the industry's authoritative reports. Are you living in a dream, or do you think we're fools?"

The Business Director's face instantly turned deathly pale. He stammered, unable to utter a single coherent word.

Dad was skeptical, but he immediately halted the project and ordered a thorough investigation.

It turned out to be a cleverly packaged trash project!

The Business Director had taken a huge kickback from the other party.

If I hadn't exposed it on the spot, the company would have lost at least fifty million!

Dad looked at the investigation report, seeing me with a completely new light for the first time.

A few days later, the scandals from the charity gala were jointly exposed by several authoritative media outlets.

Several "philanthropists" involved in money laundering and illicit profit transfers were arrested and utterly disgraced.

The Sterling family, however, because of my "impolite" outburst at the banquet, was ironically portrayed by public opinion as a beacon of "integrity in a corrupt world."

Our reputation skyrocketed, and the company's stock hit several consecutive daily limits!

Mom and Dad looked at the financial reports and the positive online reviews, finally revealing genuine smiles.

Their eyes now held appreciation and recognition for me.

They officially appointed me as the company's Executive President.

Chloe hid in her room, smashing all her treasured limited-edition dolls.

I took advantage of Mom and Dad's good mood and formally stated.

"Damon Thorne is twisted, and I absolutely refuse to marry him."

When the news reached Damon's ears, he panicked.

He and Chloe conspired to sabotage a major, heavily invested flagship real estate project of the Sterling family.

They planned to fabricate evidence of my management errors and embezzlement, intending to completely crush me and ensure I would never recover!

By observing the subtle expressions and verbal slips of several key project personnel, I preemptively sensed something was amiss.

I remained calm, secretly gathering evidence of their foul play.

A few days later, it was Chloe's and my shared birthday.

The Sterling family threw a grand banquet.

I had originally planned to publicly announce the termination of my engagement with Damon during the cake-cutting.

But Damon beat me to it.

At the peak of the banquet's atmosphere, under the watchful eyes of all the guests.

He walked up to me, knelt on one knee, and pulled out a huge diamond ring.

"Rose! I know I'm not worthy yet, but I'll spend my whole life proving I can be!"

"Marry me! I'll make you the happiest woman in the world!"

The spotlight pinned me. Applause and cheers exploded.

My parents watched, all smiles.

My eyes found Damon, then flicked to Chloe beside him. Her smile was nailed on, her eyes pure poison. A cold laugh escaped me.

"Damon, didn't you just sleep with Chloe last night?"

"You crawl from her sheets, pull up your pants, and get down on one knee? Even a stray dog has more dignity."

"A piece of trash like you dares to ask for my hand? Dream on."

"Get out!"

BOOM!

The entire ballroom seemed to have been hit by a bombshell!