Inside sat a jade pendant I had carried since childhood—the token that had allowed me to prove my identity to the Mason family. After acknowledging my heritage, I had signed a three-year agreement with Elisa's mother. To avoid exposing myself prematurely, I had kept the pendant hidden away.
My silence only fed his arrogance.
He lunged forward, snatching the box from my grip before I could react.
*Crash.*
He flung it onto the floor. The lid popped open. The jade pendant tumbled out, skittering across the hardwood.
Kevin pointed at it, triumphant. "Mason! I knew your hands were dirty! I caught you red-handed—trying to steal valuables!"
Elisa walked over. She didn't even glance at the heirloom on the floor. Her gaze remained fixed on me, cold and imperious. "If you don't want me to send you to prison for theft, get down on your knees and clean this up. As long as you behave, I might pretend this never happened."
I looked at the two clowns standing before me.
*Idiots.*
"Elisa Fox." My voice came out flat, devoid of emotion. "Instead of threatening me, maybe you should check on your so-called 'bestie.' Does he really have the capability to save your dying company?"
Kevin's face went white. "Mason, what the hell is that supposed to mean?"
I ignored him and walked straight downstairs.
Behind me, Elisa's voice rose to a shrill scream. "Adam Mason! If you dare walk out that door, don't expect to come back! You can wait for the police to drag you away!"
I waved a hand dismissively without looking back.
The sunlight hit my face as I stepped outside. A black sedan with a chauffeur was already waiting at the curb.
I slid into the backseat. "Go. Take me to the Manor."
I leaned back against the cool leather, closing my eyes. "I've been away too long. It's time I paid the old man a visit."
…
The next morning, I woke up to a phone screen cluttered with notifications.
**[Shocking! Wealthy Heiress's Live-in Husband Absconds with Fortune!]**
**[Kept Man Turns Thief: The Betrayal of the Century!]**
I tapped on a video trending across every platform. Elisa filled the screen, weeping.
"I really didn't expect this," she sobbed, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. "I supported him for three years. Treated him with all my heart." Her voice cracked beautifully. "In the end, he not only betrayed me but stole my mother's jade pendant and embezzled $500,000 from the company. He even stole our core business secrets..."
Flawless. Voice choking at just the right moments. Tears flowing on command.
"Adam Mason, I'm not asking you to return the money." She looked directly into the camera lens, mascara smudged just so. "But those materials represent the hard work of over a hundred employees. How can you be so ruthless? And that pendant... it was the only thing my late mother left me..."
The camera panned.
Kevin Gilbert's face appeared in the frame, his arm draped protectively around Elisa's shoulders, his expression dripping with righteous indignation.
"Everyone, judge for yourselves. Are men who live off women nothing but trash? Usually, he can't even mop the floor properly, and now he dares to commit crimes!" His lip curled. "People like this belong in prison!"
The comments section was a war zone.
*"Damn, that's disgusting. Living off a woman and stealing her money?"*
*"Cut that scumbag into a thousand pieces! I feel so bad for Miss Fox!"*
*"Dox him! Don't let him escape!"*
*"I know this guy! He used to be the Fox family's dog. Never expected him to be such an ungrateful leech!"*
Vicious curses piled up by the second.
*Stole $500,000 and ran?*
A cold smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth.
Elisa seemed to have forgotten that the registered capital for her company came from my pocket. Although she was the legal representative, the actual control agreement had been notarized by my lawyers three years ago.
As for the "business secrets"? Nothing more than a few discarded proposals I had plucked from the Mason Group's trash bin to give her shell company a facade of value.
Meanwhile, in the CEO's office at the Lin Group—
Elisa scrolled through Weibo, a satisfied smile lighting up her face as she read the thousands of comments cursing my name.
"See, Kevin?" She laughed, spinning her phone around to show him. "I told you this would work. The whole internet hates him. Unless he wants to live like a hermit, he's finished."
"Elisa, you're brilliant." Kevin fawned over her, massaging her shoulders. "Once this charge sticks, he won't just go to prison—he'll have to spit out every cent he took."
"Hmph. $500,000 isn't enough." A vicious glint flashed in her eyes. "I want him to pay back every meal he ate and every drop of water he drank for the past three years."
The office door burst open.
Elisa's assistant stumbled in, her face drained of color.
"M-Ms. Fox..." The girl's voice trembled. "The police... the police are here!"
