Chapter 4
After a night of passionate abandon, a large part of the anger in my heart dissipated.
The next day, the Royal Bar incident and my insinuation-filled Ins post made Julian the target of widespread ridicule.
And Seraphina’s deliberate distancing from him further cemented everyone’s attitude.
There’s no shortage of opportunists in the workplace. Colleagues who had been fawning over him just the day before would now be considered merciful if they didn’t kick him while he was down.
Someone even anonymously posted photos of Julian in the male model outfit in the company’s main WhatsApp group.
In the pictures, he looked disheveled and miserable.
Everyone openly pointed and whispered about him:
“Look, that’s the one who wore the CEO’s clothes. He probably wants to become the CEO’s male mistress.”
Julian’s situation at the company became increasingly awkward.
In the break room, someone would “accidentally” spill coffee on him.
When he went to the warehouse to retrieve department supplies, the door would suddenly be locked, trapping him inside for an entire afternoon.
The most ironic part was that everyone turned a blind eye to his plight.
He sent messages to Seraphina for help, only to see a red exclamation mark.
When Sarah reported these incidents to me, I shook my head.
“Sarah, don’t overestimate my patience, and don’t underestimate his ambition. If he chose the path of climbing the social ladder, he’ll have to endure the pain of falling.”
A week later, Sarah informed me that Julian had been absent for three consecutive days.
I thought he had finally given up and resigned, but I still underestimated his schemes.
That day, Seraphina had a multi-million dollar international collaboration negotiation. Ten minutes into the meeting, her personal phone vibrated insistently.
It was a call from Julian.
She hung up expressionlessly, but immediately received a message:
“Ms. Hayes, I’ve been kidnapped! They want to make me disappear forever. Save me!”
Seraphina’s face instantly turned pale. She frantically called back, but there was no answer.
She quickly instructed the tech department to pinpoint his location.
Then, without a word, she blurted out ‘negotiations postponed’ and rushed out of the conference room.
When she arrived at the abandoned factory where the kidnappers were supposedly holding him, she witnessed Julian being pushed from the third floor.
Seeing Julian clinging to life, barely conscious, Seraphina felt a sudden rush of dread, as if she were back on the day Caleb died.
Seraphina nearly broke down on the spot and rushed him to the hospital for emergency treatment.
Fortunately, he was rushed to the hospital in time, and Julian ultimately pulled through.
Seraphina’s fury surged when she learned he had been tormented at the company recently.
Meanwhile, I was completely unaware of this, clutching my medical report, preparing to leave the hospital.
Just as I turned, I bumped into Seraphina hurrying towards me.
I instinctively offered a smile, but then a sharp sting erupted on my cheek – she’d slapped me, hard.
My smile instantly froze. I stood there, stunned.
In all our years of marriage, before Julian appeared, Seraphina had always been gentle and considerate. She had never even said a harsh word, let alone laid a hand on me.
But now…
“Liam Sullivan, how could you be so vicious!”
Her eyes were filled with fury and disgust.
“I already cut ties with Julian as you demanded, yet you still arranged for him to be kidnapped and planned to make him disappear permanently.”
“He’s lying in the ICU right now, fighting for his life. Are you satisfied?”
“The biggest regret of my life was marrying a scumbag like you.”
I tried to explain, but she cut me off.
She didn’t even spare me a glance, turning and walking away.
It wasn’t until Sarah called that I pieced together the ‘truth’ from her furious accusations.
Julian had been kidnapped, and Seraphina was convinced I was behind it.
“Mr. Sullivan, Ms. Hayes just fired me for abuse of power, and she’s appointed Julian as my successor.”
“It’s not just me; every employee who ever had a conflict with Julian has been fired.”
Seraphina had made her stance clear in the most absolute way possible: she chose the ‘substitute,’ the man who looked so much like her deceased brother.
My nails dug deep into my palm, blood beads trickling onto the floor.
I suppressed the rage boiling in my chest, forcing myself to calm down, yet a cold sneer twisted my lips.
Seraphina Hayes, since you’ve burned all your bridges, don’t blame me for abandoning all sentiment.
The cost of crossing me has never been something you can easily bear.
I instructed Mr. Henderson, my butler, to pack my things, and I returned to the Sullivan family estate that very night.