Chapter 3

Yvonne Vance POV

When Sharon Foster heard the words "break up," most of the anger on her face instantly vanished.

"Are you serious?"

"Dead serious."

Sharon immediately took out her phone to transfer the money, terrified that I would go back on my word.

"Fifty million, there you go."

The transaction notification chimed instantly.

"So when are you leaving?"

"Within a week."

Sharon nodded in satisfaction.

"If you're still here when the time is up, don't blame me for being ruthless."

I calmly verified that the money had arrived, then stood up and walked out.

Survival requires money, and so does revenge.

Fifty million was not a lot.

The moment I stepped out of the Foster family villa, I dialed my friend Lydia Taylor's number.

"Help me find a capable private investigator."

After Lydia heard what I wanted to investigate, her voice cracked with rage.

"He staged a car accident to give you a hysterectomy?"

"Yes."

"Leave it to me! I'll definitely find someone to dig up everything on that bastard Harrison Foster!"

After taking care of all this, I returned to the villa.

Harrison was not home.

I didn't know if he was still at the hospital or if he was with Scarlett Sterling.

He hadn't sent me any messages, and I didn't ask.

I used to ask.

No matter how late it was, as long as Harrison hadn't returned, I would text him and wait for him to let me know he was safe.

But starting today, I didn't care anymore.

I moved all my pre-packed boxes to the living room and contacted a secondhand luxury goods dealer to pick them up.

After counting everything, the dealer paid me promptly.

Looking at the string of numbers on my phone, some of the suffocating weight in my heart lifted slightly.

Lydia sent over the private investigator's contact info.

I sent a message to the private investigator:

[Dig up everything about Scarlett Sterling's time abroad over the past few years as well. I'll double your fee.]

The next day, I went to the office as usual.

The project in my hands still had a bit of wrapping up to do.

Just as I stepped into the office area, I heard several employees gossiping around the pantry.

"Yesterday Mr. Foster personally brought Ms. Sterling to the office. He was holding doors and pouring water for her the whole time. Have you ever seen Mr. Foster treat anyone like that?"

"Ms. Sterling has such an elegant aura. She and Mr. Foster look so good together."

"I heard they grew up together, and she only returned after getting her MBA abroad."

During my years at the company, Harrison never allowed me to make our relationship public.

His excuse was that gossip spreads fast in a crowded office, and he was afraid that colleagues' talk would affect me.

I had risen from an intern to the Associate Director of the Marketing Department on my own merit, landing several core projects along the way.

No one in the company knew about my relationship with Harrison.

Someone saw me and sidled over.

"Yvonne, I heard you helped bid on that two-hundred-million-dollar necklace at the auction the day before yesterday? Was it a gift from Mr. Foster to Ms. Sterling? Don't you think they're a perfect match?"

I took a sip of water, my expression unchanged.

"They do look quite compatible."

The moment the words left my mouth, a cold, sharp male voice cut in.

"Gossiping during work hours?"

Harrison's face was dark.

Everyone instantly fell silent.

The employees lowered their heads and immediately dispersed.

Harrison swept a glance over me, said nothing, and turned to leave.

At 10:00 AM, a general management meeting was held.

Harrison sat at the head of the conference table, with Scarlett Sterling on his right.

"Ms. Scarlett Sterling, an MBA graduate from Bocconi University, officially joins the Foster Group today as our Marketing Director."

A minor commotion rippled through the conference room.

Marketing Director was supposed to be my upcoming promotion.

Without looking at me, Harrison continued.

"The bidding and cooperation project with the Oceanus Group will be handed over to Director Sterling starting today. Yvonne Vance will serve as Director Sterling's Project Assistant to help complete the transition."

The conference room went dead silent.

From the project's initiation until now, all the preliminary research, proposals, and client relations had been built by me alone. With the bidding just around the corner, to suddenly change leaders made everyone turn their eyes to me.

I kept my head down, staring at the notebook in front of me, hiding my expression.

After the meeting adjourned, I went back to my desk to pack up.

I was no longer the Associate Director; I needed to move to an assistant's desk.

Sadie Cross, an employee I had mentored for two years, rushed over and lowered her voice.

"Yvonne, this is way too much! The Oceanus project is clearly yours, and you wrote the entire proposal. On what grounds does she just show up out of nowhere and—"

I shook my head, signaling her to drop it.

Whispers from the neighboring cubicles drifted over.

"I knew Yvonne and Mr. Foster had something going on. Otherwise, how could an intern become an Associate Director in just three years?"

"Now that his real love is back, of course she, the substitute, has to step aside."

"I used to think she was so capable. Turns out she just slept her way to the top?"

Furious, Sadie turned to confront them, but I grabbed her arm to stop her.

Without even glancing at them, I organized my documents and calmly retorted,

"Before worrying about other people, you might want to check your performance rankings from last quarter. You're both on the bottom list."

Their faces stiffened, and their voices instantly died down.

Sadie gave them a harsh glare.

Harrison's assistant, Gary, came over with a message.

"Yvonne, Mr. Foster wants to see you in the CEO's office."

I knocked and entered. Harrison approached me the moment he saw me.

His expression was much gentler now, a complete contrast to his demeanor in the conference room.

"Yvonne, Sharon didn't make things difficult for you yesterday, did she?"

Looking at his concerned expression, I felt nothing but irony.

"Whether she did or not, isn't it all thanks to you?"

An awkward look flashed across Harrison's face.

"Scarlett had good intentions; she didn't know I was allergic to peanuts. We can't really blame her for that."

I sneered inwardly.

Scarlett was the love of his life. Among the three of us, he knew better than anyone who the real outsider was.

Harrison ruffled my hair and explained further.

"Scarlett just arrived, so she needs a prestigious title to command respect. The director title is only temporary. Once you finish the Oceanus project, I'll transfer you to the Strategic Development Department as a manager. I won't mistreat you, alright?"

I lowered my eyes.

"Don't bother. I plan to resign."

Harrison's brow furrowed.

"Stop throwing a fit."

He reached out and pulled me into his embrace.

My entire body went rigid.

In the past, Harrison had never touched me at the company.

Even when we were the only two in the elevator, he would keep his distance, saying it would look bad if people saw us.

I pushed against his chest, using his own excuse to reject him.

"Gossip spreads fast. Let's not let anyone see."

Harrison's frown deepened, and just as he was about to retort—

"Harrison?"

The office door was pushed straight open, and Scarlett stood in the doorway.

Reflexively, Harrison let go and shoved me away in a panic.

I stumbled back a couple of steps, my lower back slamming violently against the sharp corner of the office desk.

A sharp pain shot up my spine, and cold sweat instantly drenched my back.

Harrison had already turned his back on me, walking toward Scarlett.

"Scarlett, what is it?"

Scarlett put on a troubled look and handed him some documents.

"The bidding base price calculation data for Project Department Two over the past three years is too messy. There are a lot of special deductions that I don't understand. We need them for the meeting with our partners tomorrow, so we must sort out the details tonight."

Harrison immediately turned to me.

"Yvonne, work overtime today and compile all the data Director Sterling needs."

I held onto the edge of the desk to straighten up, my back still throbbing with waves of sharp pain.

I had no desire to work overtime just to hand my hard work over to Scarlett, and I was about to refuse.

Harrison saw right through my thoughts.

"If you won't do it, I'll have your subordinates do it. If Sadie and her team can't even handle this, the Marketing Department has no need for freeloaders."

Right now was a critical window for several of my subordinates' performance reviews and promotions. Harrison was threatening me.

I took a deep breath, suppressing the pain.

"I'll do it."