Chapter 4

The office went quiet.

A few of my friendlier colleagues leaned in, whispering their concerns.

"Jake, are you certain about this? The boss just announced pay increases for everyone. Leaving now seems unwise."

"Didn't you notice her tone? She was only kidding earlier."

I remained composed, my voice unwavering. "I'm not joking. I handed in my notice to HR yesterday."

I noticed a brief flash of excitement cross Ryan's face.

He was about to speak, but upon seeing Emily's unreadable expression, he held his tongue.

Emily scowled, her gaze narrowing as she focused on me.

"Are you aware of what you're doing? Do you grasp how much you're sacrificing by departing from this company now?"

Certainly, I understood.

I was giving up anxiety, manipulation, and the unseen bonds that had kept me here for far too long.

Ryan, always the opportunist, put on his usual victim act. "Jake, I understand. You're still upset with me, aren't you?" He let out an exaggerated sigh. "Perhaps I should be the one to leave instead. After all, you and Emily have such a long history together. It would be a shame for you to go now."

As he spoke, he began moving towards the exit, glancing at Emily surreptitiously, clearly anticipating her intervention.

I nearly burst out laughing at his blatant behavior.

As expected, Emily took the bait—or pretended to. She grasped his arm, her voice gentle and caring.

"This isn't about you, Ryan. No one's asking you to leave."

Ryan's face beamed with smug satisfaction.

Yet, he wasn't finished with his act. He sighed once more, shaking his head as if making a tremendous sacrifice. "But Jake's been with the company for so long. I'll try to reason with him."

He approached me, putting on a show for everyone.

"Jake, please," he said, his voice oozing with fake concern. "Reconsider. We'd all be sorry to see you go. Truly, we've always considered you a good friend."

As he spoke, he patted my shoulder—more forcefully than necessary.

And then, when no one else was looking, he pinched me. Hard.

The sudden pain shot through my shoulder. Instinctively, I kicked him squarely in the chest.

Ryan collapsed to the floor, clutching his chest and struggling to breathe.

Emily hurried over, kneeling beside him, her face filled with worry and alarm.

I couldn't help but recall the time I'd worked so hard to secure a deal that I ended up in the hospital with stomach bleeding from excessive drinking. She hadn't shown half as much concern then.

Emily leapt to her feet, her face contorted with rage. She slapped me across the face.

"Have you lost your mind, Jake?" she shouted. "Ryan was only trying to help you, and you attacked him? What kind of person bullies their coworker like this?"

At that moment, HR entered the room, evidently coming to discuss my resignation.

Before they could speak, Emily snapped, "Process his paperwork and get him out of here. Immediately."

She approved my resignation without hesitation, but she wasn't finished.

As if to twist the knife, she added, "This company is generating hundreds of thousands in profits daily. Only a fool would leave now."

Then she turned to Ryan, her tone softening once again.

"Don't worry, Ryan. In a few months, you'll have everything you've ever desired—houses, cars, anything. I'll ensure it."

The other coworkers chimed in, their excitement evident.

"Emily's the greatest!"

"Next month, whoever achieves the highest sales, I'll buy them a house," Emily proclaimed confidently.

Ryan's eyes gleamed with avarice, and the others cheered louder.

Emily's arrogance grew as she basked in their adulation.

"And as for certain individuals," she said, casting a cold look my way, "who think they can bully their colleagues and disobey orders—I'll ensure no company ever hires them again."

The room erupted into laughter and insults directed at me, their voices growing more frenzied by the second.

For a moment, I hesitated. Should I say something? Should I reveal what I knew?

That morning, my dad had called to share some interesting information. It turns out, the largest investor in Emily's company for the past two years was... him.

When he learned I was planning to quit and return home to take over the family business, he decided to conduct a thorough background check on her company.

The findings were not good.

He'd already decided to withdraw the investment, citing breach of contract. Moreover, he was planning to sue for triple damages.

I knew exactly how much influence my dad's company wielded in its investment portfolio.

Once he pulled out, forget about buying houses and cars—keeping the company afloat for another month would be a miracle.

I opened my mouth to speak but stopped.

Emily misinterpreted my silence as regret. She rolled her eyes and sneered.

"Well? If you apologize to Ryan now, there's still time to make amends."

"Otherwise—" Before she could finish, someone burst into the room.

It was the head of finance, their face ashen and anxious.

"Emily, we have a crisis," they said urgently. "Our largest investor just sent a notice. They've discovered serious irregularities in our financial records and suspect fraud.

Not only are they withdrawing their investment, but they're also suing us for triple damages!"