From Office Doormat to Billionaire Heiress

I had been working at the company for five years, and I was universally known as the ultimate office doormat.

I never missed a department dinner, and I was always on call for overtime.

Until today, when the guy sitting next to me went to the restroom, and his phone screen lit up.

The latest message was from our department manager, Harrison:

"We're doing layoffs next week. Start with the doormat first."

The replies from my coworkers flooded in immediately.

"Good call. Chloe does the most work for the least pay. Shes the easiest to push around."

"Yeah, she has no connections or family background anyway. She won't make a scene when she's let go."

My heart squeezed.

I took another glance at the group. The group name was: *Office Survival Guide*.

I counted the members.

12 people.

The entire department was in it.

Except for me, the "doormat."

After a long silence, I picked up my phone and sent a text to my dad:

"Dad, cancel the partnership with Harrington Enterprises. Im coming home to take over the family business."

***

I didn't lose my temper on the spot.

My coworker, Leo, hadn't locked his computer screen, and his Snapchat window was still open.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down.

My fingers flew across the keyboard.

Using Leo's account, I compiled the entire chat history and emailed it to my personal address.

The whole thing took less than thirty seconds.

Humming a tune, Leo walked back from the restroom and picked up his mug.

"Hey, Chloe, need me to grab you a coffee from downstairs?"

I forced a smile and shook my head. "No, thanks. I'm good."

Once he walked away, I opened the email.

The group had been created three years ago.

It was during my second year at the company.

I scrolled through the messages, line by line.

The earliest record was from our manager, Harrison Vance.

"Hows the rookie working out?"

Someone replied, "Chloe? She's great. She practically begs to take over our workloads."

"Shes a pushover. Perfect for taking the fall if anything goes wrong."

Harrison replied with a satisfied emoji.

As I kept scrolling, it was all work.

Whenever someone messed up, they blamed me. Whenever they had tedious work, they dumped it on me.

They stole my ideas. They took credit for my achievements.

And I, like an absolute idiot, had been working myself to the bone in the web they spun.

I had genuinely thought I just wasn't trying hard enough, which was why I never got promoted.

Turns out, I was just their convenient, unpaid slave.

The chat logs felt like physical blows to my chest.

Three years ago, during the company's annual reviews.

My KPIs were the highest in the entire department.

But Harrison told me in the meeting, "Chloe, you're still new. You need more grooming. Let's give this opportunity to the seniors first."

I believed him.

I even thought he was looking out for me, protecting me from getting arrogant.

But in the Snapchat group:

Harrison: "We can't give the 0-05,000 annual bonus to Chloe."

A coworker asked: "Why? Her performance was the best."

Harrison: "She has no background. Even if we give it to her, she might leave. Let's give it to Maya instead. Her uncle is an executive at one of our partner firms."

So, the outstanding employee of that year became Maya.

With the 0-05,000 bonus, she treated the entire department to a dinner at a high-end steakhouse.

Except me.

She said, "Chloe doesn't really like loud social events. Let's not bother her."

That night, I was working overtime at the office, revising a proposal they had casually thrown at me.

I ordered myself an $8 convenience store sandwich.

Two years ago, there was an opening for a supervisor position.

I spent three months preparing for it, revising my presentation over a dozen times.

Everyone thought the position was mine.

In the end, it went to Maya again.

Harrison called me into his office. "Chloe, you have great technical skills, but you lack leadership experience."

"Just wait a bit. Youll get the next one."

I believed him again.

But in the chat logs:

The night before the presentation, Maya wrote in the group, "Manager, I'm so nervous."

Harrison replied, "Don't worry. I've already talked to the executives."

"Just read Chloes report tomorrow. I already told her to send you the final draft."

So that was it.

I had hand-delivered my own promotion to someone else.

And I had even thanked Harrison for "mentoring" me.

My blood ran cold.

I kept scrolling.

Last Thanksgiving, my mom had to undergo major surgery.

I asked for three days off.

Harrison only approved one.

He said, "The project is at a critical stage. You can leave after you finish this."

I had no choice but to book a red-eye flight, running back and forth between the hospital and the airport.

I slept for less than five hours over three days.

My mom held my hand from her hospital bed, tears in her eyes, aching for me.

But in the Snapchat group:

On the day I took leave, Harrison sent out a virtual cash gift.

"Guys, holiday is here! Companys paying, lets go to the hot spring resort!"

The group exploded with cheers.

Maya asked, "Didn't Chloe say her mom is sick?"

Harrison replied, "It's fine, just a minor surgery. Work comes first, she knows her priorities."

They traded my mother's health for their luxury vacation.

I closed the email.

My vision went blurry.

Five years.

I had been nothing but a joke in this company.

***

### Chapter 2

For the next three days, I went to work as if nothing had happened.

I made coffee, printed documents, and smiled as I responded to everyone's requests.

"Chloe, can you look over this contract for me?"

"Chloe, there's a bug in this data. Can you double-check it?"

"Chloe, grab me an iced Americano from downstairs, will you?"

I accepted all of it.

"Sure."

"No problem."

"Just a second."

When they looked at me, there was a faint, barely noticeable pity in their eyes.

Like they were looking at a lamb about to be slaughtered.

Harrison called me into his office once.

"Chloe, you've been working hard lately. The proposal for the 'Starlight Project' is absolutely perfect."

He patted my shoulder, looking extremely pleased.

"Once the project launches, I will personally request a bonus for you from the board."

I lowered my head, acting incredibly grateful.

"Thank you, Harrison. Its just my job."

He walked away, satisfied.

The moment he turned, I saw Brandon posting in the group chat.

"The old fox is dangling carrots again."

"Poor Chloe, she actually bought it."

"Shes literally getting fired next week, and shes still dreaming."

I expressionlessly closed the Snapchat monitoring tool.

It was a plugin I had casually installed on the department's public router last month when I was helping the IT department test some software.

I started digging up the old files.

I didn't have many virtues, but I had an excellent memory.

I remembered during my second year, there was a prestigious training program at our European headquarters.

My sales performance was the highest in the department back then.

Everyone assumed I would get the spot.

But in the end, the person who went was Harrison's cousin, Ethan.

Harrison had told me, "Chloe, you're still young. You have plenty of opportunities. Focus on the project at hand first."

And I believed him.

I stayed up for three consecutive nights to clean up the disastrous mess Ethan had left behind.

On the final project report, the only name signed was Harrison Vance.

Because of that project, he won the Manager of the Year award.

I logged into the companys internal server.

I found the project folder from three years ago.

Deep inside the folder, there was an encrypted document.

Inside were all the original raw data and my operation logs.

As well as the email exchange showing how Harrison had ordered me, step by step, to alter the data to cover up his cousin's massive errors.

I zipped the files and sent them to my private email.

Then, I remembered another thing.

At last year's annual gala, the company held a raffle.

The grand prize was a brand-new Tesla.

Before the raffle, a girl from HR secretly told me that my name had been entered five times into the drawing box.

She said, "Chloe, you're so nice. We all hope you win."

But the winner turned out to be Brandon.

He was so excited he practically jumped onto the stage, claiming he was the luckiest guy alive.

Everyone went to congratulate him.

Only I noticed Harrison standing in the corner, giving Brandon a subtle "OK" hand gesture.

After the gala, I was responsible for cleaning up the venue.

In the hidden compartment of the raffle box, I found a pile of crumpled paper balls.

I opened them. Every single one had my name on it.

At the time, I thought it was just a mistake.

Now, I realized it was all rigged.

***

### Chapter 3

I checked the company's financial expense reports from last year.

Among the gala expenses, there was a $5,000 receipt from a VIP lounge bar.

The claimant: Brandon.

Reason: Department team-building.

But that night, I was alone in the office, working overtime.

While they were at the VIP bar, celebrating Brandon's "lucky win."

Using our department's team-building budget.

I saved the digital copy of that receipt as well.

But what broke my heart the most was Lily.

She was an intern I had personally trained.

When she first arrived, she knew absolutely nothing.

I had to teach her how to use even the scanner.

I shared all of my experience with her without holding anything back.

When she made mistakes, I took the blame.

When others tried to bully her, I stood up for her.

She always followed me around, calling me "Chloe, Chloe," like a loyal little puppy.

I really thought she was different from the rest of them.

The day before yesterday, she came to me with teary eyes.

"Chloe, I heard... the company is doing layoffs."

I comforted her, "Don't worry, you're doing so well. They wouldn't lay you off."

She hugged me, almost crying.

"Chloe, you're so good to me. Don't worry, even if I have to leave, I'll never forget how much you helped me."

I was so moved at that moment.

But just now, I saw her messages in the group.

"Manager Vance, can I take over the follow-up for the 'Starlight Project'? Should I start taking over the files from Chloe now?"

Someone replied:

"Lily is so proactive!"

Harrison replied with a single word.

"Approved."

In that exact moment, my heart went completely cold.

It turned out her little performance the other day wasn't because she was afraid of being laid off.

She was just worried that I, the "office doormat," wouldn't be fired fast enough to clear her path to promotion.

Friday afternoon, right before clock-out.

Harrison called me into his office.

The blinds were drawn, making the room quite dim.

He sat in his leather executive chair, a look of rehearsed pity on his face.

"Chloe."

He spoke, his voice heavy.

"You know how the company's financial situation has been lately. For our long-term survival, we have to make some difficult decisions."

I looked at him quietly, saying nothing.

I just waited for him to finish his act.

"You've always worked hard, and we appreciate it. But..."

He paused, pretending to search for the right words.

"We need to optimize our department's structure. Some roles are being merged. So... look, here is your severance package."

He slid a document toward me.

It was the bare minimum required by law.

Not a single penny more.

He had calculated it perfectly so I couldn't sue them.

"Sign it. You don't have to come in on Monday."

He said it so casually.

As if he were just letting me know the cafeteria menu had changed.

Instead of the fact that he was destroying the career of an employee who had worked herself to the bone for him for five years.

I picked up the agreement.

The paper was thin, yet it felt incredibly heavy.

I caught the faint, smug smirk on Harrison's face.

He thought I was still that obedient "doormat" who would take the hit, sign the papers, and leave in tears.

I looked up, staring straight into his eyes.

Word by word, I said clearly:

"Im not signing this."

***

### Chapter 4

Harrison's smirk froze on his face.

"What did you say?"

"I said, Im not signing." I repeated. "And the one who needs to leave isn't me."

He looked at me as if I had just said the most hilarious joke in the world.

"Chloe, have you gone crazy from working too much overtime? You have no connections, no money, no background. How do you think you can fight me?"

"With this."

I placed my phone on his desk and played a video.

In the video, which was recorded two afternoons ago, Harrison was meeting with the representative of the 'Starlight Project' client at a cafe.

The representative said, "Manager Vance, we really appreciate the core creativity and data models of this proposal. But we would like to meet the original creator, Miss Chloe Sterling, to have a deeper discussion."

Harrison took a sip of his coffee and said slowly:

"That won't be necessary. Chloe is unwell and has taken an extended medical leave. I will be handling all follow-ups personally."

The representative frowned.

Harrison continued, "To be honest, Chloe is already planning to resign. Shes... not very bright, and she isn't suited for such an important project anyway."

The video ended there.

Harrisons face instantly turned from smug to pale.

"You... you tracked me?"

"I just happened to be passing by." I retrieved my phone. "Manager Vance, maliciously defaming an employee and attempting to steal credit for a core company project... I believe this is more than enough to get you fired."

He slammed his hands on the desk and stood up, pointing at me.

"How dare you!"

*Knock, knock, knock.*

The office door was knocked.

Harrison barked impatiently, "Who is it? Can't you see I'm busy?!"

The door opened.

A middle-aged man in a bespoke designer suit, radiating an incredibly powerful aura, walked in.

Behind him were several executives from our parent company.

Even the CEO of Harrington Enterprises, Victor Harrington, was trailing behind him, sweating profusely and looking terrified.

Harrison froze.

"Mr. Sterling! What brings you here?!"

The man Harrison called "Mr. Sterling" didn't even glance at him.

He walked right through the crowd and stopped in front of me.

Then, in a helpless yet incredibly fond tone, he spoke:

"Done playing around?"

The entire room fell into a dead silence.

Everyone stared in absolute shock.

I blinked and gave my dad a sweet, innocent smile.