Chapter 3

Valerie's POV

Monday morning's routine board meeting at the firm was thick with an oppressive tension.

Cedric sat at the head of the table and cleared his throat.

"Everyone, to handle the heavy workload ahead, I've decided to hire Ms. Seraphina as our firm's co-Creative Director."

The moment he said it, the boardroom erupted into murmurs.

Several of the senior partners exchanged glances, their eyes turning toward me, seated to Cedric's right.

Everyone knew Seraphina was nothing more than a third-rate designer who couldn't cut it in Europe. What gave her the right to parachute into a co-director position?

Seraphina, dressed in an eye-catching red power suit, walked over to me in her heels, a fake smile plastered on her face.

"Looking forward to working with you. I heard you haven't been feeling well lately, and you're about to go on vacation?"

She deliberately emphasized the word "vacation," her eyes brimming with provocation and smug satisfaction.

Cedric chimed in right on cue. "Valerie, the Hudson Tower project is too demanding. Since you're going on vacation anyway, why not hand it over to Seraphina?"

The boardroom fell into dead silence.

Hudson Tower was the firm's most important landmark project this year—not only lucrative, but crucial to establishing the company's standing in the industry. Yet everyone knew the geological conditions of that site were extremely complex, and I was the only one who could accurately calculate the foundational load-bearing models.

A few loyal old employees clenched their fists in anger, about to speak up before being cut off.

Seraphina had already braced herself for a public confrontation with me, tilting her chin up slightly. "Valerie, you don't actually think I'm trying to steal your position, do you? I just want to share the load for you."

I leaned back in my chair, quietly watching the two of them play off each other, secretly almost wanting to laugh.

Cedric leaned in close to my ear. "She just got back to the country. She needs a big project to establish herself."

The room went silent. Once again, all eyes turned to me.

I picked up my coffee, took a sip, then set the cup down and let out a light laugh.

"Sure. I agree."

Everyone froze. Clearly, no one had expected me to agree so readily.

"Valerie, you... you're really willing to hand it over?" Cedric looked genuinely stunned.

"Why not?" I stood up and pushed the thick stack of preliminary Hudson Tower design blueprints in front of Seraphina.

"Since Director Seraphina is so confident, then the project is entirely yours now. I hope you won't let the company down."

Only I knew that hidden within those blueprints was an extremely well-concealed structural flaw in the load-bearing data for Zone C.

If it wasn't corrected using my patented algorithm in the subsequent construction drawings, the entire building would face a structural collapse risk once it reached the thirtieth floor.

And someone like Seraphina, who couldn't even grasp basic mechanics, would never catch it.

"Excellent!" Seraphina eagerly clutched the blueprints to her chest as if she'd just embraced a mountain of gold, her eyes gleaming at me with a victor's arrogance.

I ignored her and turned to Cedric instead. "Since the handover is complete, I'll officially start my vacation today."

A flicker of barely-concealed elation flashed across Cedric's eyes. He walked over and patted my shoulder.

"Go on, Valerie. Get some rest. We've got the company covered—you don't need to worry about anything."

That's right. I don't need to worry about anything anymore.

Because the next time I hear this company's name, it'll only be in the headlines of a bankruptcy liquidation hearing.

I walked out of the boardroom in my heels, without so much as a backward glance.

The glass door closed behind me, sealing off the smug laughter of that man and woman.

I pulled out my phone and sent a message to my lawyer, Pierce: 【Is the divorce agreement ready? Bring it to my place tonight.】