Chapter 2

The board members, who usually treated me with such respect, suddenly stood up, falling over themselves to greet Luna Powell.

"Luna is young and capable. The Mercer Group's future is in good hands!" one of them said.

"That's right, having the right bloodline really sets her apart. I can just tell she's a natural when it comes to business!" another added.

"Stella, don't be too upset," another board member said, putting on a fake sympathetic tone. "After all, you've made a lot of money over the years. You should be satisfied."

They seemed to have forgotten that just last month, at my celebration party, they were all raising their glasses and shouting, "Stella, you're the best one!"

My uncle, Harold Mercer, who'd never liked me, finally said, "It's about time! How could we let an outsider run such a big family business all the time?"

My aunt, Margaret Mercer, jumped in, "That's right! I've heard she's been using company resources to support her so-called friends, and all the benefits are going straight into her own pocket!"

Ronald frowned when he listened to all this, but he didn't say anything to stop it.

And Luna accepted everyone's compliments with a calm, graceful smile.

As I walked out of the conference room, I happened to run into Caleb, who was there to meet Luna.

He looked up at me, his voice cold and distant as he said, "Stella, please complete the handover as soon as possible. Luna has just taken over and needs time to familiarize herself with the business."

I looked at him, feeling a wave of irony wash over me.

I said slowly, "Well, Caleb, you sure know how to switch sides fast. You were my fiancé yesterday, and today you're Luna's loyal right-hand man?"

His expression shifted as he replied, "Stella, don't make a scene, okay? You know how these arranged marriages work. It's all for the family interests, and I don't really have a choice."

I scoffed, "Family interests? Then you'd better pray Luna actually brings you benefits."

Just then, Luna had come over and held his arm, acting all sweet and close.

Before I left the company, I went back to my office to gather my personal stuff.

Pushing open the door, I found Luna had already had all my things boxed up and thrown them in the corner like garbage.

"Sorry about that," she said, leaning against the doorframe, pretending to be surprised. "I thought you didn't want these anymore. After all, you don't really have any status here anymore, right?"

I glanced at the corner, spotting the family portrait with the Mercer family, torn in half. My side was thrown out separately, left all alone.

I bent down to pick up the photo and threw it into the shredder in front of her.

Luna was stunned, clearly not expecting me to do that.

She said, "You..."

I looked at her calmly and said, "Luna, you won't last in this position."

Her expression darkened, and just as she was about to retort, my phone started buzzing.

It was a text from Maxwell Hunt. [Ms. Mercer, I heard you resigned. What about our deal tomorrow?]

I quickly replied to him. [Put the signing on hold. Wait for my update.]

I put away my phone, held the box, and walked out without looking back.

Behind me, Luna yelled with rage, "Stella! Who do you think you are? Without the Mercer family, you're nothing!"

I didn't bother to look back, just curled my lips into a slight smile.

It wouldn't be long before they realized that without me, the Mercer family was nothing.

Word was, as soon as I left, Luna launched a massive overhaul at the company.

She cancelled the new energy initiative I'd spent three years building.

She waved her hand impatiently at the board and snapped, "What's the point of burning cash on something like this?

"Shift all resources to the 'Graceful Beauty' cosmetics line I handpicked myself. My friend said this is where the real money is!"

Tobias Gray from the strategy department shot up from his seat and said, "Ms. Powell, we've already poured 600 million dollars into R&D for this project. If we cancel it now, all that money is gone, and we'll totally piss off our partners!"

Luna cut him off, "Are you questioning my decision? I'm the real Mercer heiress here. I have the final say in this company! If you don't like it, get out!"

Tobias lowered his head, defeated.

Right after that, Luna pushed through the change, insisting on swapping out the trusted suppliers I'd worked with for years for her cousin's tiny company, ignoring all the loud protests from the procurement team.

That afternoon, Luna marched into the Mercer Group with a whole bunch of her small-town relatives, most of them running little shops back home, parachuting them straight into the company.

Luna announced, "This is my cousin. From now on, he'll be heading up the procurement department.

"And this is my bestie. She's taking over the marketing department.

"This is my uncle's friend. From now on, we'll be distributing his family's building materials through our channels."

The executives stared at this crowd of clueless relatives and could only grit their teeth, too angry to speak up.

"What the hell is this bullshit decision?" Elias Stone, the senior of the technical department, couldn't take it anymore and slammed his files down right in the middle of the meeting.

Luna's face instantly turned stormy as she got called out in front of everyone.

"Who the hell do you think you are? Just some nobody working here. How dare you talk to me like this?" she snapped.

She pointed at the door, screeching, "Get lost! You're fired now!"

Elias let out a cold, mocking laugh, tore off his badge, and slammed it on the table.