How My Husband Helped the Betrayer

1
Mia, my husbands assistant, just stole the ten-million-dollar semiconductor deal I landed.
At the celebration dinner, she boasted she was better than me and demanded I call her Mommy.
I hurled a glass of wine in her face. You backstabbing bitch. You stole my work. What's there to be so proud of?
"You think I can't get Sterling Corp. to cancel this deal right now?"
But then my husband, Leo, slapped me across the face. "Just do what she says! The contract's signed. You think you can just cancel it? Sterling Corp. is one of the biggest tech firms in the world. You think they'll listen to you?"
"Come on, everyone, a round of applause! Let's cheer Laura on!"
With the CEO backing her, Mia became impossibly arrogant, climbing onto a chair to look down on me.
"Laura," she cooed, "everyone's watching. Don't make this hard for me, okay?"
I let out a cold laugh and pulled out my phone, dialing the chairman of Sterling Corp. directly. "Dad, I need you to come to my office. Cancel every contract, every single order."
...
"Daddy, I'm so scared!"
Mia actually had the gall to call my husband 'daddy' right then and there!
She shot me a look of pure defiance. "I can't believe the chairman of the world's top semiconductor firm is your father. I guess that makes Leo my daddy now!"
Then, turning to Leo, she simpered, "Besides, you said your dad already handed the company over to my daddy. He wouldn't let you do something so rash, would he? Right, Dad?"
Her clique of sycophants whistled and cheered.
"Mia's a legend!"
"Haha, what a power move! Nothing to lose by calling him 'daddy'!"
Leo actually chuckled, a smirk playing on his lips. Everyone knew he doted on Mia, spoiling her rotten. No one was allowed to so much as frown in her direction, not even me. That's why she felt so untouchable.
His face hardened as he tossed a termination notice onto the table in front of me.
"Sterling Corp. is a global leader in chip design," he sneered. "You think just because you share a last name, you're his daughter? Today, Mia is the hero of this company, and you will do as she asks. Call her 'Mommy,' or you're fired. Now."
I felt like a clown trapped in a spotlight, being forced by my own husband to call another woman my mother.
They called him the "King of Silicon," a title he only had because I, in a grand gesture to prove my love, had handed my entire company over to him.
Richard Sterling, the chairman of Sterling Corp., really was my father. But our family had a strict rule: once a child came of age, they had to go out and build their own success from scratch, without revealing their identity. I'd never told Leo, but I had been secretly going to my father for deals to help him succeed.
I never imagined I'd be nurturing a viper.
The room buzzed with whispers as everyone waited for the punchline of their joke.
"Leo himself is telling her to do it. She wouldn't dare refuse."
"Mia's really hit the big time. Having the CEO's wife call her 'Mommy'? She'll be dining out on that story for the rest of her life!"
From her perch on the chair, Mia flashed a triumphant grin, her gaze dripping with condescension.
Rage boiled over, and I yanked her off that chair.
"You're not worthy!"
A collective gasp filled the room. Mia hit the floor with a hard thud, wailing in pain.
"Laura, are you out of your goddamn mind?"
A brutal kick from behind sent me sprawling. It was Leo.
Mia scrambled up, clutching Leo's arm and sobbing. "Leo, did I do something wrong by landing this deal? This is so humiliating! And I hurt all over I feel like I'm dying. Why is she treating me like this?"
Her performance struck a chord deep in Leo's heart. He stroked her cheek tenderly. "Mia, don't be upset. I'll make sure she calls you whatever you want, okay?"
Then, he turned on me, his eyes blazing. "Laura, you're not going to do it, are you?"
He barked at the others. "What are you all standing there for? Hold her down! Make her apologize to Mia and call her 'Mommy'!"
Instantly, the women who were always kissing up to Mia swarmed me. I fought back, but I was outnumbered. They pinned me to the floor, their weight crushing me.
"How dare you touch Mia."
"Don't you know? In Leo's eyes, Mia's sweeter and knows how to get what she wants. That makes her more important than you."
Their words were like gasoline on a fire. "This is my company! I built it! Is this a mutiny?"
For a second, they all froze.
But Mia, ever the actress, started fanning the flames again. "Leo, it's fine if she kills me. But you you work yourself to the bone for this company, day and night. She doesn't appreciate you, and now she's claiming the company is hers? How can anyone be so cruel?"
Leos face flushed with rage. "Who told you to stop? This company is mine, and I call the shots!"
"Make her say it!"
A heavy force slammed my head against the floor. Once. Twice. The sharp, coppery tang of blood filled the air.
"Call her Mommy, do you hear me?"
"We only listen to Mia and Leo! Got it?"
My head was splitting open, the pain a white-hot agony that ripped through my nerves. I had given him the company because hed told me he was afraid Id leave him if my business became too successful. I couldnt bear to see him sad, so I handed it all over, telling him I would work for him from now on. My father had been furious, warning me against it. We fought, nearly severing our relationship, but I was blinded by love and ignored him.
Now his words echoed in my head: You can never see what's truly in a person's heart.
The rage and betrayal gave me a surge of impossible strength. I threw them off me.
"Leo, I poured my blood, sweat, and tears into building this company! It's mine, and I'm taking it back!"
That only made him angrier. "You're going to turn on me over this? Just because I asked you to call her 'Mommy'?"
"Laura, I am the legal owner of this company now. On what grounds do you think you can just take it back?"
I pulled out my phone and brought up a copy of the transfer agreement Id made him sign.
"Who said once it was yours, it was yours forever?"
"It's written right here, clear as day: The first party reserves the right to reclaim ownership of the company at any time."
I'd put that clause in thinking of him. If he, being inexperienced, ever ran into serious trouble, I could take the company back and bear the consequences myself, protecting him from ruin. He was, after all, the husband I loved more than anything.
I never thought I'd be using it against him.
I expected him to be speechless, to finally apologize.
Instead, Mia let out a cold, knowing laugh. "See, Leo? I told you. I knew she'd regret it someday."
Before I could process what she meant, Leo took out his own phone and showed me the official, hard-copy agreement. "Open your eyes and look closely. That clause isn't here."
My world tilted. A buzzing filled my ears.
I remembered it all in a flash. After drafting the agreement on my computer, I showed it to Leo, explaining my good intentions with the reclamation clause. He was so moved he agreed immediately and asked Mia to print it out for us to sign.
"Mia," I seethed, my eyes burning holes into her. "This was you, wasn't it?"
When we signed, I was so full of love and trust for Leo that I never doubted either of them.
"I was just looking out for Leo," she said with a shrug. "And look, you did go back on your word, didn't you? Besides, it's your own fault for not reading the fine print."
"You monster!"
I lunged at her, wanting to tear her apart.
"Hold her down!" Leo roared.
His loyal cronies grabbed me again, pinning me to the floor, a foot planted firmly on my back.
"You have some nerve, Laura. Accusing Mia when you're the one with ulterior motives."
"Call her 'daddy,' or I'll let them beat you to death. Try me."
"Stop!"
A powerful voice cut through the chaos.
I looked up. It was my father. He had gotten my call and rushed over.
Richard Sterling. The chairman of the most advanced chip design firm in the world. He was in the city for a conference and must have been so worried he came alone.
Tears welled in my eyes.
"Mia, was it?" my father boomed, his voice shaking with fury. "Do you have any idea who you're messing with? You want to be my grandmother?"
"Let go of my daughter! This is assault, and I'm pressing charges! I will sue every single one of you!"
He shoved them away and helped me to my feet. "It's okay, sweetheart. Dad's here. I'll make them pay. Not a single one of them is getting away with this."
The room fell into a stunned silence.
"That's Laura's father?"
"No way is that really Richard Sterling?"
Leos brow furrowed in suspicion. "Laura, if he were your father, don't you think I would have met him by now?"
Confusion spread through the crowd.
I scoffed silently. My father, despite his status, rarely made public appearances. And because of the family rule, children building their careers couldn't return to the fold until their companies hit the billion-dollar mark. That's why he wasn't even at my wedding.
"Because I never told you," I said, my voice cold. "He is my father. And he's the man behind Sterling Corp., the company you've been so desperate to work with."
Mia gasped. "You're saying he's really Richard Sterling?"
"Now get on your knees and apologize!" I roared.
But her shock quickly morphed into a sneer. "Oh, give me a break."
"You knew we'd never met him, so you hired an actor to play the part, didn't you?" she accused, her voice ringing with false confidence. "Everyone on the planet wishes they were Richard Sterling's kid. If you really were, you think you could have kept it a secret this long?"
Her cronies chimed in.
"Yeah, if my dad was Richard Sterling, I'd have it tattooed on my forehead."
"She really thinks sharing a last name makes her royalty."
Leo's jaw was clenched in fury. "You'd go this far just to avoid calling her 'Mommy'? Have you no shame?"
"Get this impostor out of here!"
As they moved toward my father, I threw myself in front of them. My dad had disapproved when I gave Leo the company, and he'd been furious when I came begging for contracts for Leo's sake, calling me a fool. But in the end, he was still my father, and I was still his daughter. He always gave in.
Since Leo was still so stubbornly blind, I would have my dad cancel the deals right in front of his face.
"Dad, I was wrong," I choked out. "I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you. You were right about him."
"It's okay, sweetheart. Dad will always have your back."
My father took out his phone. "This is Richard Sterling. As of this moment, Sterling Corp. is terminating all contracts and partnerships with Apex Innovations. Effective immediately."
"I can afford the penalty fees."
Then he turned to Leo, his voice laced with ice. "This company belongs to my daughter. If you don't hand it over, I will find the best lawyers on the planet and I will sue you into oblivion."
But Leo, pushed past his breaking point, snatched my father's phone and smashed it on the ground.
"Laura, how long are you going to keep this act up? You're disgusting!"
A wave of shock rippled through the room. No one had ever dared to treat my father like this.
"Leo, you have no idea what you're doing! You're playing with fire!" my father roared.
In response, Leo swung his arm back and slapped my father across the face. The sound was a sharp, deafening crack.
"You old man," Leo spat. "You think you can scare me?"
"You didn't want to leave? Fine. Beat him until he can't stand!"
In a heartbeat, Mia's friends and the men in the room dragged my father to a corner and began to beat him with their fists and feet. He was in his fifties; he was no match for a mob of twenty-somethings. They treated him like a stray dog.
A knife twisted in my gut. I screamed and tried to get to him, but the remaining few held me back.
"Leo, he really is my father! You're signing your own death warrant!"
"Let him go! Let my father go!" I thrashed against their grip.
Leo stared at me, his face a mask of resentment. "Mia is young and beautiful, and she cares about her image. What would it have cost you to stroke her ego and call her 'Mommy'? You can call this fraud 'daddy,' but you can't do that one small thing for her?"
His voice rose with fury. "You want to protect this impostor? Fine! Then you can watch while I teach him a lesson!"
Mia ran over to join them, shouting for them to strip my father naked. As he struggled, she grabbed a chair and brought it down with sickening force across his lower back. He collapsed, unable to move.
Then, Mia grabbed his pants and yanked them down, turning away with a mock blush.
The crowd erupted in cruel laughter. "Hahaha, old man! That's what you get for lying!"
"Ha!" Leo clapped, applauding her actions.
My father is my world. Seeing him like this, a primal rage erupted in me, hot and blinding. I fought with everything I had.
Leo struck me, a blow so hard my head spun. "What are you screaming for? This is what you get for trying to trick me! Now watch."
Seeing Leo's approval, Mia's cruelty escalated. She demanded my father kneel and act like her dog. When he resisted, she smashed a beer bottle over his head. Blood sprayed across the floor. Her cronies forced him to his knees.
She lifted her foot, digging the heel of her stiletto into the gash on his head. "Bark! I said bark!"
Bloody footprints smeared the floor. I couldn't imagine how much blood he'd lost.
I felt something break inside me. I was going to be sick.
Just then, an employee from the business department burst in, looking panicked. "Leo! II just got a call. It's real. It's from Sterling Corp. They said they're canceling everything, at any cost. Analysis shows our losses will be in the hundreds of billions"
Leos jaw dropped. He turned and stared at me, his face a canvas of pure shock.

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