Chapter 4The Price of a Hidden Ring

When I pushed open the conference room doors with my documents in hand, everyone had already arrived.

At this moment, Chloe was sitting in the CEO's chair.

Seeing me, Chloe smiled:

"Since everyone is here, let's begin."

"Does everyone remember? Ten years ago, when my father passed away, his will explicitly stated that only the person who successfully develops the High-Sensitivity AI Robot would inherit the company."

"Today, I have successfully developed that robot."

"I couldn't have done it without the help of my husband. I'd like to invite my husband, Ethan Sterling, to present the details of this robot to you all."

With that, Ethan walked in, wearing a sharp white suit.

He opened the PowerPoint presentation and flawlessly explained the robot to the board. But the densely packed slides were entirely my hard work, accumulated drop by drop over the years.

I couldn't hold back any longer. I stepped forward, grabbed his arm, and with bloodshot eyes, roared at him:

"Ethan, what the hell are you doing?!"

But the next second, he forcefully shook off my hand.

He turned, faced the room, and spoke in a cool, measured tone:

"Everyone, I need to confess something to you all today."

"A year ago, Chloe and I successfully developed the High-Sensitivity Robot. Stella somehow found out about it and wanted me to steal the core technology and give it to her."

"But I know this is Chloe's life's work. I also know that only her dedication and capability make her worthy of the CEO position at Hayes Corporation."

Instantly, my ears were filled with insults and accusations directed at me.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, there was nothing but validation and praise for Chloe.

From amidst the crowd, I looked up at Ethan. Our eyes met for just a second before he hurriedly looked down and averted his gaze.

For years, I had immersed myself in researching the High-Sensitivity Robot. I never hid anything about it from Ethan.

He knew better than anyone what successfully developing it meant to me, and he knew exactly how much I had suffered and sacrificed for it over the years.

I never expected that my trust would ultimately be so casually trampled by him, and even used as a weapon by him and another woman to smear my name.

I opened my mouth, about to speak, but the next second, my phone in my pocket suddenly rang.

It was my best friend.

She said Mia was missing.

I couldn't care less about the meeting. I jumped up and sprinted toward the door. Ethan stepped forward and grabbed me from behind:

"Stella, you owe Chloe an apology."

"Ethan, your child is missing!"

I roared at the man in front of me, my eyes red. The next second, panic flashed across his face:

"Lily? What happened to Lily?"

Chloe stood up, took his hand, and gently reassured him:

"Lily is fine. The nanny just told me she's sleeping at home."

Instantly, Ethan let out a sigh of relief, his entire demeanor relaxing.

Looking at the drastic change in the man before me, I clenched my fists, turned, and ran outside, leaving only one sentence behind:

"Ethan, you don't deserve to be a father!"

As soon as I exited the building, I spotted Mia across the street.

She was a complete mess, covered in dark bruises.

I ran over and pulled her into a tight embrace. Through her sobs, she told me what had happened:

"Mommy, Auntie took me to the amusement park. I saw the baby Daddy was holding yesterday, and I just wanted to go over and look. But while Auntie was buying me ice cream, they took me away and beat me up..."

"They said I shouldn't have been born. They said... I deserve to die."

I was just about to comfort her when a massive force yanked me up and violently pulled Mia and me apart.

When I regained my senses, Mia and I were being held back by bodyguards.

Ethan stood in front of me, raised his hand, and delivered a heavy slap to my daughter's face.

"Why did I ever let a disaster like you live? And now you're trying to hurt my son? If I had known, I should have strangled you the moment you were born!"

I struggled violently, desperately trying to break free from the bodyguards' grip.

When I finally broke free, a large delivery truck came speeding out of nowhere, heading straight for Ethan.

And my daughter ran directly toward him.

I don't know how a five-year-old child had that much strength, but she shoved Ethan completely out of the way.

"Mia!"

In an instant, Mia was lying in a pool of blood.

I sprinted toward her and scooped her into my arms, tears streaming down my face.

Mia smiled at Ethan, who was standing frozen nearby, and whispered softly:

"Daddy, if you didn't love me, why did you have me?"

Ethan stumbled forward.

With red eyes, he reached out, wanting to touch Mia's face, but I viciously slapped his hand away.

Holding my daughter tightly, tears pouring down my face, I screamed at him:

"Don't touch her!"

"Ethan, it's been five years! Mia hasn't seen you once since the day she was born!"

"Yesterday was her fifth birthday. Even though it was her birthday, she prepared a gift just to meet you!"

Under his stunned gaze, I took a deep breath, tilted my head back, closed my eyes, and said softly:

"Ethan, from this moment on, you are dead to us. I hope we never see you again in this life."