Chapter 20: Everything is for Money

"Oh, And then what happened?"

The coffee shop staff worked quickly, and in no time, Nora's coffee was set down on the table.

Nora took a slow sip of coffee, forcing down her racing heartbeat, and looked at Emily with a calm eye.

"Miss Johnson, you called me over a dozen times to meet up, just to tell me this?"

"You..."

Emily didn't expect Nora—who used to be so scared Sebastian and Wendy so much—to be so indifferent now. It threw her off balance.

But she quickly regained her composure.

"His parents have made it clear—if you’re not fired, they'll kick him out of the Green family again and leave him with nothing."

"Nora, you should know very well what he'll face without the family's support and protection! For his future, I hope you'll be sensible."

"Here's one million dollars, take it and get out of Bright Capital tonight."

Emily pulled out a check from her crocodile leather wallet and casually tossed it onto the table in front of her.

Her expression dripped with arrogance, as if she were dismissing a beggar on the street.

Yes, a homeless person!

Emily always liked to treat her this way.

Looking at the check Emily had thrown at her, Nora felt familiar humiliation surge toward her like a tidal wave, making it hard to breathe.

For a moment, Nora felt like all the blood in her body had frozen.

She suddenly remembered that afternoon five years ago.

The weather that day was just as terrible as today.

Emily, wearing an expensive dress and limited-edition heels, had barged into her classroom with a group of bodyguards and forcibly dragged her to the school's volleyball gym.

At the time, the school's cheerleading squad was practicing in the gym, and it was packed with people watching the spectacle.

"So you're the poor girl Samuel likes?"

"Ha, you're really ugly."

"Here's one million dollars. Take the money and get lost."

In front of everyone, Emily had thrown a one-million-dollar check at her like she was throwing away trash.

She had tried to resist.

She had refused Emily's demand.

But what did Emily do then?

Oh, Emily ordered her bodyguards to tear off her clothes and leave her naked in the volleyball gym.

That day, it felt like the whole world was laughing at her.

She was like a clown!

And now?

If she refused Emily today, would she get angry and strip her naked in the coffee shop again?

Nora looked around, took a deep breath, and suddenly laughed. The laugh was cold, like heavy snow in winter.

"What are you laughing at..."

Emily was angered by Nora's reaction and instinctively wanted to curse, but before she could finish, a cup of coffee was splashed in her face.

"Ah! Nora, you crazy woman, what are you doing?"

Emily screamed in horror as brown liquid slowly dripped down her face and onto her dress, making her look completely disheveled.

Look at that—who's the clown now?

Nora slowly stood up, grabbed Emily's arm, and leaned close to her ear with a cold laugh.

"Miss Johnson, it seems you still haven't faced reality. I'm not who I used to be."

"I'm warning you, don't mess with me, or I won't mind making you lose Samuel again."

"You know I have that power!"

After saying this, before Emily could respond, Nora pushed her to the ground and left the coffee shop without looking back.

Outside the coffee shop, the storm that had been building in the sky finally came down.

Nora took a deep breath and walked firmly into the rain.

The cold raindrops hit her body one by one, washing away the resentment in her heart and giving her a fresh start.

"Ahhh! You bitch, how dare you treat me like this!"

Inside the coffee shop, Emily stared blankly in the direction Nora had left. Only after she was gone did Emily let out angry screams and pull out her phone to message Jessica.

[Tell the company employees that Nora helped Samuel deal with Sebastian's old employees and has angered Sebastian.]

[In a while, Sebastian will come to the company to put him in his place and fire Nora.]

[If Bright Capital employees don't want to be dragged down by Nora, they should keep their distance and isolate her completely.]

[Also, find out what Nora's weakness is.]

-"Isn't that Nora? Come on, let's stay away from her."

Emily's plan quickly took effect.

The next morning, when Nora entered the company, she noticed that everyone was looking at her strangely.

As if... she were some kind of terrible virus.

"Nora, you've offended Mr. Sebastian Green and Miss Johnson. You're about to be kicked out of the company."

All her questions were answered at lunch.

Nora was sitting alone in a corner of the company cafeteria with her tray when Jessica suddenly sat down across from her with a bottle of milk.

"You need to know that Mr. Green is just the heir now, not the family head! The family and Bright Capital still belong to Sebastian. Just pleasing him won't help you survive in the company."

"Director Lee is Sebastian's right-hand person, and you used an internal audit to send her to prison. If I were Sebastian, I'd hate you to death."

"And Miss Johnson—the Johnson family's daughter! You're openly competing with her for a man. Do you have a death wish?"

Jessica stared intently at Nora's eyes, an evil smile on her face, as if waiting for Nora to get scared, lose control, and scream.

Unfortunately, Nora remained calm throughout.

"So the company employees are avoiding me because they're afraid of being dragged down and losing their jobs?"

Nora put the last piece of steak in her mouth, chewed it carefully, swallowed it, and then looked up at Jessica's face.

"Thanks for clearing that up. I'm full, so I'll head back to my office."

"Stop!"

Jessica grabbed her, frowning.

"Nora, what's with this attitude? You've angered Sebastian—aren't you worried at all?"

"Oh, I get it. You're pretending to be calm. Why don't you kneel down and beg me? If your attitude is good enough, I can put in a good word for you with Miss Johnson."

"Maybe Miss Johnson will show you mercy for my sake and let you stay at the company."

For her sake?

She was just a dog Emily kept. Why would she care what she thought?

Nora didn't take Jessica's words to heart and peeled her fingers off one by one.

"Thanks for the advice, but I don't need it."

With that, she strode away...