Chapter 3

The security guards closed the door. The lighting in the lounge didn't change, but the atmosphere felt like it had been plunged underwater.

Victoria stood by the door, clapping her hands lightly as if she had just disposed of some minor garbage.

"Alright," she turned to Brenda, her voice returning to that sweet tone. "Brenda, please organize the minutes from this afternoon's meeting and send them to me. Mr. Vance will want to review them later."

Brenda didn't move.

"Ms. Sterling," she said, her voice incredibly low. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

"I do," Victoria said. "I am maintaining order in the executive suite."

"And Brenda, I'm not asking for your opinion."

Brenda snapped her head up, her eyes rimmed with red.

She had been with Carter for eleven years, starting when the Vance Group was just a mid-sized company. She had never dealt with this kind of audacity before.

She took a deep breath, about to speak...

But Victoria had already turned away, pulling out her phone and dialing a number.

The call was answered almost instantly.

A deep, commanding voice came through the line.

"Victoria, what's wrong?"

Victoria’s tone softened by seventy percent in a second.

"Uncle Richard, I just arrived at the executive suite, but I ran into a bit of trouble. I wanted to report it to you."

The name "Uncle Richard" sent another wave of silence through the lounge.

Robert's coffee cup rattled slightly, and Marcus’s expression shifted.

The "Uncle Richard" Victoria was talking about was none other than Richard Harrison.

He was a founding board member of the Vance Group, a close ally of my late father, and the current Head of the Compliance Committee.

Victoria explained the situation, her tone dripping with victimhood. Her words were precisely crafted to paint herself as a diligent worker and me as a spoiled, unreasonable sister throwing a tantrum.

"...I really had no choice. With Mr. Vance away, the office was in chaos. I had to enforce the rules."

"Uncle Richard, did I do the right thing?"

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the line.

"Victoria, you did nothing wrong. The executive suite needs rules."

Richard's voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough for everyone in the room to hear.

"I'll call Carter later and tell him to get his sister under control."

"Running around the office all day—it's highly unprofessional."

Victoria looked up, her eyes sweeping over everyone in the room as a smirk crept onto her lips.

"Thank you, Uncle Richard. I knew you were the most reasonable one."

Hanging up, she slid her phone into her pocket and stood tall.

Her entire aura was completely different now.

Before, she still felt the need to maintain a polite facade. Now, she didn't even bother.

She turned back to me.

"Chloe, you're a smart girl, so I won't beat around the bush."

She folded her hands over her knee, her tone calm.

"I didn't join the Vance Group to make an enemy out of you. But rules are rules."

"If you cooperate with me today, I’ll say some good things about you to Carter. In the future, when you come here, I’ll turn a blind eye."

"Isn't that a win-win?"

I looked down at my durian.

Then I looked up, preparing to speak.

Footsteps echoed from the hallway.

"Who gave the order to lock this door?"

It was the Chief Executive Assistant, my brother’s shadow.