Chapter 1
I'd been married for three years before I accidentally found out my wife was actually the CEO of my company.
To give her a comfortable, secure life, I turned down the chance to study abroad. I passed on high-paying job offers in other cities.
I even swallowed my pride and endured the company's repeated, unfair treatment—just so she could have stability.
But the whole time, she was pretending to be poor. All part of some twisted "test."
My promotions were denied. My salary and bonuses cut for failing performance reviews. Turned out, all of it was her way of testing me.
Even my startup proposals and business plans—she shut them down behind the scenes. She never believed I could pull them off.
When I discovered the truth, I quit. I filed for divorce. I was done playing along—I was finally going to chase my dream.
That was when she panicked. She offered me a promotion, a raise, even wanted to invest in my startup.
I tore up the check. She begged me through tears not to leave, but I didn't even look back.
This time, I was doing it for myself.
*****
And I succeeded. But the person reaping the rewards… wasn't me.
Applause filled the conference room, thunderous and relentless—but to me, it was deafening.
The projector screen still displayed the AI architecture optimization proposal. In the bottom right corner, two names stood out: Foster Mcneil, David Garrison. Mine was second.
Every algorithm module, every line of code—three months of my hard work.
And the one presenting it all now? The protege I had personally trained—Foster.
"Using dynamic optimization based on deep learning, our team implemented a novel sparse training framework, improving inference speed by 37%…"
His voice was steady. His gaze? Avoiding mine at all costs.
I clenched my fists.
Three days ago, I'd stayed up late finalizing the proposal. The next morning, GM Lynne Griffith said she needed it "for review."
And now? It had become Foster's presentation—pushed through by her.
The cruelest part? Lynne sat at the head of the table, nodding with approval, even chiming in from time to time, like this was all perfectly normal.
"After review, the company has decided to promote Foster to Technical Director, effective immediately," she announced.
"This project has created huge value for the company. Well done, Foster…"
My nails dug into my palms as I stared at the stage.
The man awkwardly accepting applause—my student—couldn't even meet my eyes.
"As for the project bonus," Lynne adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses, "Ms. Blackburn from Finance will explain the allocation."
"The company has revised the distribution plan," Gloria Blackburn said. "Under the new policy, the breakdown is as follows…"
I watched her lips move, but I wasn't listening anymore.
For a project of this scale, the bonus should've been at least six figures.
But under this "new" plan? My share had been slashed to less than 10% of what it should've been.
Unbelievable. They stole my work—and gutted my reward. Not just betrayal. This was humiliation.
As the room cleared out, I blocked Gloria's path, struggling to keep my anger in check.
"Ms. Blackburn," I said, "why is my bonus so low?"
She froze for a moment, then forced a smile. "Under the latest evaluation system, your innovation coefficient came out to 0.7."
She handed me a sheet of paper. "Here's the assessment. Ms. Griffith signed off on it personally."
At the bottom of the form, the deductions hit me like a punch: [Deductions] · Teamwork Score: -40% · Proposal Completeness: -30%
My innovation score? A brutal 62. (The department average: 85.)