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Undercover Heiress: Fired Me for Stealing My Own Company?
I found a Chanel bag left in the breakroom. Being nice, I snapped a quick photo and sent it to the company group chat on Snapchat: "Whose bag is this? I left it at the front desk." The owner replied...
Chương (5)
第1章
I found a Chanel bag left in the breakroom.
Being nice, I snapped a quick photo and sent it to the company group chat on Snapchat: "Whose bag is this? I left it at the front desk."
The owner replied in literally two seconds: "Did you go through my bag?! Are you freaking starving for cash? You got caught trying to steal from me, and now you’re acting like a Good Samaritan?"
"We need to fire this thief immediately. Our company shouldn't be keeping parasites!"
Forty people in the Snapchat group. Not a single person said a word.
I looked at my desk and smiled.
My family literally owns this entire conglomerate. I only took this job for the work experience.
Since someone is begging for a reality check, I guess I'll play along.
My keyboard clacked rapidly as rows of numbers filled the spreadsheet.
A salary of $2,500 a month, barely $2,000 after taxes. That wouldn’t even cover half a tank of gas for my Maybach.
My phone on the desk was vibrating like crazy.
Brooke Davis was typing like her hands were on fire, spamming the Snapchat group with text after text, every single one loaded with exclamation marks. I could feel the sheer malice radiating through the screen.
"Chloe Miller, did you lose your tongue? Too scared to admit you’re a thief?"
"Everyone, watch your wallets. This girl has a history of sticky fingers!"
"If you're this broke, don't come to an office. Go back to your trailer park!"
"My bag costs $5,000. That’s more than you make in two months. Jealous much?"
I glanced at the screen, my fingers never leaving the keyboard.
Jealous of a $5,000 bag? If I picked any random clutch from my walk-in closet at home, it would be enough to buy every single bag in this office.
But I didn't say anything.
Not because I was holding back, but because I just couldn't be bothered.
I kept working on my spreadsheet, my fingers moving even faster. Numbers don't talk back, and they don't lie. They are a million times more pleasant than Brooke.
Finally, someone else in the group chat chimed in.
Carter from Marketing added: "No wonder I lost a hundred-dollar bill last week. Don't tell me it was..."
He left the sentence hanging, but the implication was loud and clear. It was a perfect piece of low-key slander, throwing dirt at me while leaving himself an escape route.
Vanessa from Finance jumped in even faster, her typing speed matching her accounting skills: "I mean, she only carries those cheap canvas tote bags. Of course she’d lose her mind when she saw a Chanel. I wouldn't even dare to touch one at the mall, but some people just help themselves."
The new intern, Hailey, probably trying to suck up to the older employees, added: "People from that kind of background just have no morals."
I counted. Six people had spoken up.
Three of them had personally received help from my dad's company.
Vanessa’s kid was extremely sick last year, and the Miller Corporate Foundation approved a $10,000 emergency medical grant. She had literally cried and begged at the foundation’s office door, her sobbing echoing through the entire floor.
Carter’s younger brother was currently working at Miller Logistics. My dad had personally bypassed the HR screening to slide him in.
And Hailey? Her dad was the security chief at one of the Miller-owned shopping centers. Last year, I was the one who signed off on his double-month holiday bonus.
Six people. Six ungrateful parasites.
I let go of my mouse, leaned back in my chair, and stared at the ceiling for three seconds.
There were over forty people in that chat. Not a single one stood up for me. Not even a simple "Maybe we should check the security cameras first."
Well, this is human nature. I've seen it all.
My dad has been in the business world for thirty years. I grew up listening to his dinner-table stories about how quickly people turn on you. My ears practically had calluses from those tales.
But seeing it play out in real life was still pretty entertaining.
It was like watching a documentary on wild animals.
第2章
At two in the afternoon, I walked into the breakroom with my coffee cup.
As soon as I pushed the door open, I saw Brooke standing there. She had her two loyal minions with her, arms crossed, completely blocking the exit.
"Chloe Miller!" she yelled, her voice piercing enough to wake the dead. "This isn't over! I've already called the cops! You’re going to jail! A $5,000 bag is grand larceny, honey. Enjoy prison!"
I opened my thermos, took a slow sip of my coffee, and looked at her calmly.
Her makeup was flawless—Chanel lipstick, Dior foundation, all luxury brands. A standard administrative supervisor making maybe $5,000 a month, yet she was wearing over $10,000 worth of luxury goods.
I had never paid attention to those details before.
Now, I did.
"You called the cops?" I set my thermos down. My voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough for everyone outside the door to hear. "Perfect. Let’s have them pull the security footage and see who's actually lying."
She clearly hadn’t expected that reaction.
Usually, when innocent people are accused, they cry, scream, or beg. She had probably prepared a whole script to counter my tears.
But I wasn't playing by her rules.
She froze for a split second, then her voice went an octave higher, so loud I felt the coffee cups on the counter vibrate. "Are you still trying to play dumb?! I’ve seen plenty of trailer trash like you! You see luxury and you can't help yourself! You thief! Have you no shame?!"
I laughed.
Not a cold sneer, but a genuine laugh.
"Brooke," I tilted my head, looking at her with genuine curiosity. "You do realize this is Miller Enterprises, right?"
She scoffed, rolling her eyes so hard I thought they’d get stuck. "Like I give a crap! It's not like you own it! If you were actually the Miller heiress, then I’d be the CEO’s wife!"
"Right. You're absolutely right," I said, picking up my coffee and turning around. "Like you give a crap."
Behind me, she exploded into a storm of curses. Some of the slang was so creative I hadn't even heard it before. She definitely had a colorful life background.
I didn't bother listening.
As I stepped out of the breakroom, several colleagues were standing in the hallway, pretending to make phone calls or grab water, but their ears were practically twitching.
The moment they saw me, they quickly averted their eyes.
I walked past them, catching a whiff of cheap perfume.
Back at my desk, my phone buzzed.
It was a text from my dad on Snapchat: "I heard you’re having some trouble at the office?"
The message was sent five minutes ago. The building management must have tipped him off. This entire skyscraper was crawled with my dad's eyes and ears—the janitors, the security guards, the receptionist, they all worked for him.
I typed back: "Just a minor issue. I'm handling it."
"Don't let them push you around. Our family doesn't need to put up with that garbage."
"I know."
After sending that, I added another text: "Dad, have you looked into Brooke Davis?"
第3章
The screen went quiet for about thirty seconds.
Then Dad replied: "Just did. Quite interesting. Let's talk at home tonight."
I stared at the words "Quite interesting" for five seconds.
Whenever my dad said something was "interesting," it meant things were about to get messy.
At five-thirty, I packed up my things to head home.
I shut down my computer, washed my mug, and locked my drawers. I had been doing this routine for three months, and it was pure muscle memory now.
A few colleagues were standing by the elevators. When they saw me approaching, they quickly took a step back, as if I carried some kind of plague.
I pressed the button for B2.
One of them, a girl named Sarah, smirked. "B2 is reserved for executive parking. Did you press the wrong button?"
I didn't answer.
Right before the elevator doors slid shut, I heard Sarah whisper to the person next to her, "Is she trying to sneak down there to steal something from the nice cars? Only the executives park on B2."
Then came a chorus of hushed snickers.
The doors closed.
I leaned against the elevator wall, watching the numbers tick down.
B2.
The doors slid open. The underground parking garage was dimly lit, smelling of concrete and exhaust fumes.
My black Maybach sat quietly in its reserved spot, the license plate bearing my birthday.
My chauffeur, George, was already standing by the door in his sharp suit and white gloves. He smiled when he saw me. "Rough day, Miss Miller?"
"Got called a thief all afternoon. What do you think?" I climbed into the back, the premium leather seats instantly making me feel at ease.
"Who had the nerve? Should I inform your father?"
"No need. Just take me home."
George closed the door, walked around to the driver's seat, and started the engine. The Maybach glided silently out of the parking space and up the ramp.
As we cleared the garage, the evening sun flooded the car, forcing me to squint.
I dialed my dad's number.
"Dad, is everything set for tomorrow?"
My dad's deep, calm voice came through the speaker with a hint of amusement. "Everything is set. HR, legal, and security are fully coordinated. Tomorrow morning at eight-thirty sharp, the hammer drops."
"And," I paused, "what did you find out about Brooke?"
The line went quiet for a beat.
"Apex Corp," my dad’s voice turned cold, losing its warmth. "Three months before Brooke joined our company, someone from Apex took her out to a very expensive dinner. Shortly after, a hundred thousand dollars was wired to her account."
My fingers tightened, my nails digging into my palm.
"A hundred thousand?"
"Yes. Wired in two transactions, labeled as 'consulting fees.' She's an admin supervisor. What could she possibly consult on? It was a blatant bribe."
I leaned my head back, staring out the sunroof.
Outside, the downtown skyline was gray and overcast.
"So today wasn't just a random tantrum?"
第4章
"It was completely premeditated," Dad’s voice was as cold as marble. "When you picked up that bag, she was watching from around the corner. She left it there on purpose. She stood in the hallway for three minutes waiting for you to go in before she walked away."
Outside, the traffic was heavy. I stared at the red brake lights of the car ahead of us.
"How far are they planning to take this?"
"Apex promised Brooke half a million dollars, split into four payments. She got the first hundred grand. The rest is contingent on her completely ruining your reputation. Ideally, she wants to force you to quit after making a massive scene, and then take the whole thing viral online."
"Viral?"
"Yes. They want to paint a story about the 'spoiled Miller heiress abusing common workers' to get it trending.
They’ve already lined up several trashy gossip accounts, just waiting for you to snap. The moment you argue back or hit her, they will edit the video to make you look like the villain.
I bet they already have the headline written: "Billionaire Heiress Crushes Working-Class Employee Because of Her Family's Wealth"."
I closed my eyes.
What a brilliant plan.
If I didn't fight back, Brooke would brand me a thief. If I did fight back, Apex would drag my family's name through the mud online.
They thought they had me in a corner.
"Half a million dollars," I repeated. "Just to ruin me?"
"Just to ruin you," Dad said. "Because you are my daughter."
I rolled the window down an inch. The cool autumn wind rushed in, blowing my hair across my face.
"Dad, why is Apex trying so hard to destroy us?"
"They want to force us to sell."
My dad's voice was flat, as if he were reading a financial report. "Miller Enterprises owns three prime development projects right in the heart of downtown.
Apex wanted to build a luxury complex there, but they couldn't get the land. They tried to buy us out, and I rejected them. Then they sent brokers to negotiate a hostile takeover, and I laughed them out of my office."
"So they want to tank our stock price by ruining our family reputation, forcing us to sell cheap?"
"Smart girl." Dad sounded proud. "The business world is much dirtier than you think, Chloe. They don't actually need to hurt you physically.
They just need to make the public hate us. If our reputation goes down, banks will tighten our credit, partners will back out, and our stock will plunge. That’s when they’ll swoop in and buy us out for pennies."
I rolled the window back up, shutting out the city noise.
"So, tomorrow..."
"We go ahead as planned," Dad said, a smirk in his voice. "If Apex wants to play dirty, we'll show them how it's done. Our family has plenty of money and time. They can't afford a war of attrition. We can."
"And Chloe," Dad added, "when you get to the office tomorrow, don't explain anything. Let them scream. Let them make the biggest scene possible."
I smiled. "I get it, Dad. Get some rest."
"You too. Lily missed you today. She said her mommy hasn't colored with her in days."
My chest tightened.
第5章
Lily, my three-year-old daughter. Every morning when I left, she was still asleep, and by the time I got home, she was already in bed. For three straight days, the only interaction I had with her was a quick kiss on her forehead before I walked out the door.
"I’ll be home early tomorrow, I promise," I said, my voice a little thick.
"Don't push yourself too hard. She needs her mom."
"I know."
After hanging up, I leaned back and closed my eyes.
By the time I reached home, Lily was already asleep.
The nanny told me she had waited up for two hours, holding her coloring book on the couch until she couldn't keep her eyes open. She insisted on waiting for mommy to color the cat with her.
I walked softly into her room, watching her sleep with her tiny fist still clutching a crayon. A bit of drool was on her cheek.
Her coloring book was lying by her pillow. On the open page, there was a horribly lopsided drawing of a cat, with two words scribbled next to it: "Mommy Cat".
I sat by her bed for five minutes.
Then, my phone buzzed again.
Brooke was still posting in the Snapchat group, like she was on some kind of upper.
"Chloe Miller, you better not show your face tomorrow! If you do, I’ll personally throw you out! This company doesn't tolerate thieves!"
I didn't reply.
I locked my phone, climbed into bed, and closed my eyes.
Tomorrow was going to be fun.
The next morning at eight-thirty, I was sitting in the Starbucks right below our office building, sipping a latte while watching the security feed on my phone.
The Starbucks was owned by a subsidiary of our company. The manager knew me, so he always gave me an extra shot of espresso for free.
On the screen, Audrey, our HR Director, was walking through the front lobby with two corporate lawyers, right on time.
Upstairs, Marcus, our department manager, was probably sipping his morning tea, thinking about what to get for lunch, when his office door was thrown open.
"Come in," Marcus’s voice carried through the microphone, sounding full of himself.
Audrey walked in and dropped a folder onto his desk.
"Marcus, this is to inform you that effective immediately, Brooke Davis is terminated. This is a direct order from corporate, signed by Mr. Miller himself."
On screen, Marcus jumped up so fast he knocked his tea over, soaking a stack of files.
"What?! Terminated?!" Marcus’s chair banged against the cabinet behind him. "What did she even do?"
Audrey pointed at the paperwork, her face completely expressionless.
"She committed a severe breach of company policy during her contract—specifically, malicious harassment and defamation of a colleague, causing severe reputational damage to the company. It’s in black and white, right there in the employee handbook she signed."
She pulled a second document from her briefcase. "Additionally, the Legal Department has officially filed a lawsuit against Brooke Davis on behalf of Chloe Miller. This is a copy of the legal notice. Hand it to her when she arrives."
Marcus’s face turned white as a sheet, sweat breaking out on his forehead. "Chloe Miller? She’s just a entry-level clerk. How does she have the corporate Legal Department fighting her battles?!"
Audrey leaned in, lowering her voice. "Marcus, let me give you a heads-up. Chloe Miller is the only daughter of Arthur Miller. Our CEO. He personally called me about this. You might want to tread very carefully."