Chapter 5 Ipulled out my phone and called Chris. On the other end, he sounded like he was about to cry. "Miss West... are you okay?" "Did Mr. Tim say something to you?" I got straight to the point. "He told me not to tell you anything," Chris choked out. "All he said was that you didn't need me anymore. And the new project... It's been handed over to his team." My gaze turned cold. Zack had underestimated the loyalty of the people around me. He thought a little temptation would be enough to make them betray me, but he was wrong.

I had pulled Chris out of the worst circumstances and trained him myself. "Mr. Tim wants to take over this project, gain the board's trust, and officially take control of the company," Chris added, his voice trembling. "Tsee. Okay." I nodded. Zack had ambition, but no real grasp of the situation. After all, [hadn't told him everything. I had originally planned to tell him on Valentine's Day that the board had issued the appointment letter and decided that I would take over as CEO of the company. The decision was already in my hands. It just hadn't been announced yet.

He simply assumed that securing this project would guarantee his success. What he didn't know was that this project was just the first step in my company's transition. It wasn't important at all. "Notify them," I said calmly. "Delay the appointment announcement." Chris immediately understood. "Don't worry, Miss West. I've informed them right away." Inodded, reassured. "Oh, right," he added, as if remembering something. "Mr. Tim had me book two flights to Europe under your father's name... He was watching me at the time, so I didn't havea choice." "When did this happen?" I asked. "Yesterday.

Right after your incident. I didn't even know what was going on yet, and he rushed into the office in a panic," Chris sighed. I wasn't surprised. Zack really was an ingrate. Irested a hand on my stomach. Maybe losing the child was a sign that I should stay as far away from someone like him as possible. This had all been part of his plan. To clear the path, he had even sent my parents far away. Just then, my phone buzzed with a text. (Liana, are you okay? Zack made us leave out of the blue today.

He said the company is changing hands and someone is targeting you, so we should stay away for now. Your father and I don't understand what's going on... Hasn't the transition happened? But the tickets have been bought, we went with it.] Zack didn't understand one thing-no one around me would ever act behind my back. I steadied myself and replied, [I'm fine. Enjoy your trip. Leave everything else to me.] Of course, I was going to make him pay. Zack wasn't going to get that project so easily. My team and Ihad spent a full month preparing for it, and it wasn't for nothing.

The client had agreed to work exclusively with me, Liana West. Iopened Mandy's social media. She was a professional cheater -catcher. Through clients' submitted requests and information, she would show up anywhere to expose affairs. In fact, she was still posting. Her latest upload was just minutes ago. Clearly, Zack had no intention of dealing with her. Iscrolled through all her content. Out of everything, the video of her hitting me was by far the most vicious. Under her latest post, someone commented.

[Heard you hit the CEO of West Group, and you're still posting as if nothing happened?) Mandy replied, [What CEO? I told you, the CEO is a man.] Another user asked, [Are you really backed by West Group?] [Of course.] My finger paused over that comment, and a bold idea began to take shape. I kept scrolling back through her posts until I found an old comment. {Can I hire you? I'll make you famous.} That comment was from a year ago, back when Mandy had just started and barely had any likes. I checked the date. It was the same day the project had been announced.

The username was also familiar, as it was Zack's. He had used that account to like my posts before, telling me it was just a burner and not to pay attention to it. So, he had been planning this from the very beginning. I saved the video of her exposing me and sent everything to my lawyer. "Take them down." 'Then, I switched to a different number. I started a private message with Mandy and sent her a screenshot from my lawyer. {I'm Zack. You've been sued. I told you to handle things quietly, but you made it worse.] Iclenched my jaw and typed it out in his usual tone, taking a gamble.

I expected it would take a while for her to reply, but she responded instantly. (What? I did everything according to your instructions.) I chuckled. The fish had taken the bait faster than I expected. [Do you have proof? Don't drag me into this. It has nothing to do with me. You've messed with the wrong person this time.] Almost immediately, she sent over a screen recording and said, [So now you're denying it after the job's done? Fine. P11 sue you too.) Iopened the recording, which showed chat logs from a year ago.

Zack had told Mandy that he was from West Group and that he could make her famous and give her money. In return, she had to follow his orders at any time and help him catch cheaters when needed. There was just one condition: she wasn't allowed to hit the man.