Smack—!
The sharp, clean sound of a slap rang through the room like a whipcrack. Time froze.
Everyone turned in stunned disbelief to see Hailey Tang, her hand still raised, her palm tingling from the force of the strike. And across from her stood Lin Xin'er, her face tilted from the impact, crimson fingerprints blooming across her cheek like an angry accusation.
No one had expected this. Least of all Lin Xin'er.
Tears welled in her eyes, more from shock than pain, as she stared wide-eyed at Hailey. "W-Why…?" she stammered, too stunned to do anything else.
Ethan Yu was the first to react. His dark brows furrowed sharply as he stepped forward and seized Hailey's wrist, his grip tight with restrained anger. "Hailey! What the hell are you doing?!"
She jerked her arm free with a sneer, her eyes fierce and unflinching. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm slapping someone."
"You slapped her without reason!" he growled.
"No reason?" Hailey's laugh was low and bitter. "Lin Xin'er grew up with Wang Qiang, the man who tried to hurt me. Do I need a better reason?"
"I didn't know he was going to do anything to you!" Lin Xin'er cried, trembling. "Yes, we grew up together, but I had nothing to do with what he did to you! I haven't seen him in years until that charity event!"
"Oh really?" Hailey crossed her arms, her lips curling in cold mockery. "And we're supposed to take your word for it?"
"I don't have to prove anything to you!" Lin Xin'er's voice cracked with indignation. "Just because you're Mrs. Yu doesn't give you the right to humiliate me!"
Jo Ning stepped forward cautiously, trying to diffuse the tension. "Hailey, maybe there's some misunderstanding here. I really don't think Lin Xin'er is involved—"
"Stay out of this, Jo." Hailey snapped, her voice like ice. "This is between me and her."
The room had gone utterly silent. The other employees who had been present for the meeting now stood awkwardly by the walls, too afraid to move, too intrigued to look away.
Lin Xin'er wiped her tears furiously, trying to compose herself. "If you think I'm guilty, show me proof! You're the one throwing accusations and hitting people—where's your evidence?"
Hailey's eyes gleamed with defiance. "I don't need evidence."
The air grew tenser with every passing second.
"I don't need a reason to hate you. Just seeing your face annoys me," she said flatly, every word cutting like a blade. "Is that reason enough for you?"
Gasps rippled through the room.
Lin Xin'er's face drained of color. Her lips trembled as she took a shaky step back, her pride visibly crumbling. Hailey's words had pierced deeper than the slap.
"Enough!" Ethan finally snapped. He grabbed Hailey again, pulling her roughly to the side. "Are you even listening to yourself?! You're being completely unreasonable!"
"Oh, I'm the one being unreasonable?" Hailey hissed, her voice barely above a whisper, but laced with venom. "You trust everyone except me. You question everything I do. And yet, when I'm the one who was almost killed, you demand explanations from me like I'm the one on trial?"
Ethan's jaw clenched, frustration mounting. "This isn't you, Hailey. You've changed—"
She yanked her hand out of his grasp and laughed—cold, hollow, and bitter. "No, Ethan. This is the real me. The one who's tired of pretending."
"Pretending?"
"Pretending to be the calm, obedient Mrs. Yu. Pretending like I don't see through all these fake smiles and lies. I've had enough."
Her voice echoed through the conference room. The walls themselves seemed to absorb the weight of her fury.
Lin Xin'er stepped forward again, her voice cracking. "Is it because I'm an orphan? Is that why you think you can treat me like this?"
The question struck a nerve, sending a wave of awkward silence across the room.
"I'm just a regular employee," she went on, voice trembling. "I've never asked for special treatment. But today… I feel like you slapped me not because of anything I've done, but because you think I'm beneath you!"
Hailey stared at her, expression unreadable.
The room shifted. For a moment, the balance of power tilted.
People began whispering, casting disapproving glances at Hailey. Even Jo Ning bit her lip, unsure where to stand.
Ethan looked at Hailey, his voice quieter now. "Do you realize what you're doing? You're isolating yourself from everyone who still cares."
Hailey's gaze turned to him. And this time, there was no anger—only exhaustion.
"That's the thing, Ethan," she said. "No one cares. Not really. They all just want a story to gossip about, or a reason to pity me, or to drag me down. I've been there before."
Her voice dropped, and a flicker of vulnerability cracked her armor.
"I know what it's like to be cornered. To be called crazy. To be left behind."
Lin Xin'er's breath caught, her earlier fury faltering.
"I slapped you not just because I suspect you," Hailey said slowly, "but because your smile reminds me of someone I trusted once—someone who stabbed me in the back while wearing the same tearful face."
"You're projecting," Ethan said coldly.
"Maybe I am," Hailey admitted. "But if that's what keeps me alive this time, I'll take it."
She turned on her heel and stormed out of the conference room, heels clicking against the marble floor like the final word in an argument no one dared continue.
Behind her, no one followed.
Ethan didn't move. Jo Ning looked torn. And Lin Xin'er… just stood there, eyes glistening with something between confusion and humiliation.
A storm had been unleashed, and no one was ready for the wreckage it would leave behind.