Chapter 3

I arrived promptly for my scheduled exit interview.

The HR manager, Jeremy Chapman, was in his early thirties and wore glasses, giving him a mild and reserved appearance.

His opening words quickly revealed his true attitude. "Claire Sutton? Have a seat."

I sat down as Jeremy flipped through a stack of files.

He lifted his gaze to meet mine. "Ms. Sutton, you've been with us for almost a month now."

"Yes," I replied.

"How's it been going for you?"

"Not bad."

He put on a standard, professional smile. "Ms. Sutton, I'll be straightforward with you. The company is not satisfied with your overall performance."

"What specific issues does the company have with my performance?"

"It's a wide range of things." He shrugged. "You don't integrate well with the team, you lack proactive initiative, and your overall work output fails to meet expectations..."

I cut him off mid-sentence. "I'm the one who wrote that market analysis report Mr. Yates posted and praised on social media."

He froze for a brief moment, clearly caught off guard. "Wasn't that work credited to Linda's team?"

"The final credit went to Linda's team, but I'm the original author of the report."

He frowned. "Do you have any proof to back that up?"

I smiled calmly. "Mr. Chapman, I came here to listen to the company's feedback, not to argue. You may continue."

My response left him momentarily speechless, but he quickly regained his composure. "We hope you will submit a voluntary resignation.

"The company will offer you a severance package as compensation."

"What will happen if I refuse to resign?"

"Refuse?" He took off his glasses and wiped them slowly. "The situation will become complicated for you. You understand how workplace dynamics operate..."

He didn't spell it out directly, but his message was obvious.

They would keep making my work difficult if I refused to resign.

I stood up from my seat. "Alright, I understand your point."

"Take some time to think it over and give me your final decision tomorrow," he said.

"There's no need to think it over."

"Yeah?"

"I'm not resigning."

He stared at me in shock.

I held his gaze and said calmly, "Mr. Chapman, I won't submit a voluntary resignation. If the company intends to terminate my employment, you must follow official legal procedures.

"Labor laws require a formal written notice with explicit reasoning for contract termination."

"You..." He tried to argue.

But I didn't let him finish. "I want you to be aware of one thing." I paused briefly before adding, "I have documented every instance of my work being stolen and credited to other colleagues.

"I have also recorded every deliberate act of exclusion targeting me. I have solid evidence for all these incidents. I won't hesitate to pursue legal action if the company chooses to escalate this matter."

His expression darkened instantly.

I said nothing more and turned to walk out of the HR office.

Once I was out, I took a deep breath.

I had survived the first round of confrontation. Though I hadn't gained a clear victory, I had definitely not lost ground.

A distinct shift in office atmosphere greeted me when I returned to my workstation.

My coworkers had previously acted as if I didn't exist.

Their attitude had now turned to open and unapologetic hostility.

Linda stood in the doorway of her open office, staring at me with sharp, piercing eyes.

I ignored her gaze, sat down at my desk, and opened my laptop.

Linda walked over to my desk five minutes later. "Claire," she called out.

I looked up at her.

"What did you say to HR earlier?" she demanded.

"Nothing," I replied.

"Nothing?" She let out a cold laugh. "Did you threaten him?"

"I simply informed him that I had relevant evidence."

Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "What evidence?"

I looked directly at her and spoke in a slow, steady tone, "Ms. Carter, I have the original draft of the market report you took credit for.

"I have screenshots from our group chat that prove you intentionally excluded me from team meetings.

"I also have photos proving you reassigned my desk next to the restroom on purpose."

I paused for a second, and then asked, "Would you like to review them?"

Her face drained of color for a split second. But she quickly recovered her arrogant and condescending demeanor. "Do you truly believe you have the standing to challenge me?"

"I have no desire to challenge you."

"Then what exactly are you trying to accomplish?"

I offered a faint smile. "I only want to complete my job duties peacefully."

Linda stared at me for several seconds before letting out a loud huff and turning away.

I lowered my head and continued with my work.

I knew everything would be different from today forward.

Linda would grow far more aggressive and reckless in her attempts to push me out. She would resort to every underhanded tactic available to force my resignation.

I felt no fear at all. This was exactly the outcome I had been waiting for.

Every hostile move she made would add to my collection of evidence.

The more people joined in targeting me, the longer my recorded list of incidents grew for the company's year-end party.

I opened my document file. It already spanned multiple full pages.

Every entry contained precise dates, detailed incident descriptions, involved staff names and clear evidence sources.

Every single detail was fully recorded and well documented.

I scrolled down and pulled up the oldest entry in my file.

It dated back to my very first day at the branch.

I knew exactly how things would unfold the moment I stepped into the office because I had done thorough research before my transfer.

This branch office had ranked last in overall performance for three consecutive years.

The department had mishandled expense reports and reimbursement filings for two years in a row.

Linda served as the department manager with an annual salary of 400 thousand dollars, yet she brought almost no valid performance results to the team.

The company leadership had wanted to fix this branch's problems for a long time, but they never had enough proof to take action.

That was why they sent me here.

On paper, I was a regular specialist on the team. But I actually headed the internal audit team for company headquarters.

I wasn't about to lose my job at this branch. I showed up to take theirs.