After My Wife Cheated With My Boss, I Bankrupted His Empire

At the company's annual holiday party, my boss, Carter Hayes, suddenly announced that this year's year-end gifts would be drawn via a mystery box raffle. One colleague won a 50-gram gold bar. Another won $100,000 in cash. But when my name was called, I received a sexy, pink lace nightgown. It even smelled of a familiar perfume. The entire room erupted into laughter. But as I stared at the embroidered initials on the lace, I froze. Wasn't this the exact Christmas gift I had just bought for my wife, Chloe, a few weeks ago? Late that night, after we got home, I asked her: "Where's the nightgown I bought you for Christmas? Why don't you wear it? Don't you like it?" Chloe avoided my eyes, stammering, "I'm so sorry, honey. I accidentally ruined it in the wash, so I threw it away. I was afraid you'd be mad, so I didn't tell you." In the dead of night, after she fell asleep, I unlocked her phone. I found her SnapChat chat history with my boss, Carter. Chloe: [Did you hide the nightgown I left at your place last time?] Carter: [Don't worry, I took care of it. What, can't wait to have me again? See you tonight.] Chloe: [Not tonight. Let's wait until he goes on his business trip next week.] The next morning, Chloe sat across from me, sipping her milk. Her hair was loosely pinned up, a few strands framing her face. She looked beautiful. If it weren't for that mystery box last night, I would still think she was the best wife in the world. "Chloe," I called out. "Yes, honey?" She looked up, her smile a bit strained. She didn't even dare to look me in the eye. "Was that nightgown really ruined in the wash?" I asked casually while peeling a hard-boiled egg. My voice was so calm that I even impressed myself. Chloe put down her spoon, her fingers nervously twisting together. "Oh, why are you still asking about that?" Her voice held a hint of whiny complaint. "I told you, the lace was cheap. I put it in the washing machine, and it got completely ruined. It was unwearable, so I tossed it." "Honey, do you not trust me?" She stood up, walked over behind me, and wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing her face against mine. Her skin was warm. Before, I would have found this sweet. Now, it only made me sick to my stomach. "How could I not trust you?" I patted the back of her hand. "It's just a shame. I spent a long time picking that out." "I'll buy you a better one next time." Chloe let out a sigh of relief and gave my cheek a loud kiss. "You're the best! I'm going to be late for work, got to run!" She grabbed her bag and bolted for the door, practically running. She even forgot to change into her favorite high heels. The moment the door slammed shut, the smile on my face vanished. I pulled out my phone and opened the backed-up cloud album on my SnapChat. Those messages stabbed my eyes like needles. [Don't worry, I took care of it. What, can't wait to have me again?] The reply timestamp was the exact minute I was in the kitchen slicing fruit for her. And just a minute before that, she had been complaining to me about how exhausted she was from work and how much her back ached. So that was why her back was aching. I stood up and walked to the balcony. I watched her figure emerge from the lobby. She didn't walk toward the subway station. Instead, a black Maybach was idling by the curb. The window rolled down halfway, and a hand holding a cigarette poked out. That was Carter's car. Chloe glanced around like a thief, quickly opened the door, and slipped inside. The car sped off. I lit a cigarette and took a harsh drag, the smoke burning my lungs. Carter Hayes. The heir to the Hayes Group. And the only son of Arthur Hayes, the man who had sponsored my college education. Years ago, Arthur saved me from poverty. To repay his kindness, I had turned down countless high-paying offers from headhunters just to stay at the Hayes Group as an unsung technical lead. The ultimate "corporate workhorse." I had rewritten Hayes Group's core database architecture three times and secured countless patents for them. Arthur used to tell me, "Ethan, you are the backbone of this company. When Carter takes over, we will make sure you are taken care of." So this was how they took care of me? Sleeping with my wife and putting her underwear in a raffle box to humiliate me? I crushed the cigarette butt in the ashtray. Since they wanted to play dirty, I wouldn't hold back either.When I arrived at the office, the atmosphere was bizarre. Several interns who usually called me "Ethan" avoided my gaze today. Whispers echoed in the breakroom. "Did you hear? The announcement came down from the top..." "Looks like a major shake-up in the tech department..." I pushed open the doors to the development floor, my face blank. My desk had been moved. My spacious spot by the window was gone. Instead, my monitors had been shoved into a dusty corner right next to the noisy printer and paper shredder. Sitting in my old chair was a blonde punk with his feet up on the desk, playing video games. That was Carter's cousin—a useless idiot who couldn't even tell the difference between Java and JavaScript. "Ah, Ethan. You're finally here." Carter strolled out of the director's office with that typical, arrogant sneer unique to trust-fund brats. "What is the meaning of this, Carter?" I pointed to the corner desk. "Oh, just a corporate restructuring," Carter said casually. "The tech department needs fresh blood. You're getting up there in age, Ethan. Writing complex code must be getting exhausting for you." "Starting today, you're reassigned to IT support. Your job is... well, fixing computers and changing the water jugs for the real developers." The entire floor fell dead silent. Everyone knew that the core technology of the Hayes Group lived inside my brain. Reassigning me to IT support? This wasn't just a demotion. It was throwing my pride on the floor and stomping on it. "Carter, this violates company policy," I said, my voice steady. "Policy?" Carter sneered. He walked over, slapped my shoulder, and leaned in close. He whispered in a voice only the two of us could hear: "At Hayes Group, I am the policy." "Ethan, I know you were my dad's favorite. But the old man is retired. This company might still have the Hayes name, but it belongs to Carter Hayes now." "By the way, your wife is amazing. Married for years, but she still has so much passion... damn." Boom! The blood rushed to my head. The veins on my hands bulged. He did it on purpose. He intentionally put that nightgown in my raffle box. He wanted to humiliate me to my face. "What? Want to hit me?" Carter took a step back, mockingly spreading his arms. "Come on, do it. Right here." He tapped his cheek. "One punch, and your sick mother, your childhood home, and your entire career in this industry will be wiped out instantly." I took a deep breath. I forced the murderous urge back down into my chest. I was an adult. In the adult world, physical violence is the ultimate sign of weakness. I was going to make him pay a price a hundred times worse than a simple punch. "You're funny, Carter." I let go of my fists and squeezed out a smile. "I'll follow company orders." Carter blinked, clearly disappointed by my restraint. "Fine. Since you're so obedient, I have an assignment for you." He picked up a folder from the desk and threw it at my chest. "There's an issue with our data center project out west. We need someone on-site to oversee it." "You leave tonight. I've already had travel book your ticket." The Western data center. It was a construction site in the middle of nowhere in North Dakota. There was absolutely no reason for a software architect to go there. He just wanted me out of the way. Why he wanted me gone was glaringly obvious. I bent down, picked up the folder, and brushed off the dust. "Sure. I'll go." Carter laughed loudly. "That's what I like to hear, Ethan. Know your place." "Don't worry about your wife while you're away. I'll take 'good care' of her for you." A few of Carter's sycophants in the office chuckled mockingly. I took the folder, turned around, and walked away without looking back.I got home after work. The lights were off, but candles were lit throughout the apartment. The dining table was covered in a fancy lace tablecloth we rarely used, set with steaks and red wine. Chloe stood there wearing a stunning, backless black evening gown, her makeup flawless. Seeing me walk in, she immediately rushed over to take my briefcase. "You're home, honey!" "I know you've been under a lot of stress at work lately, so I prepared a candlelit dinner for us." She pulled me to the table and poured me a glass of wine. The flickering candlelight danced across the face of the woman I had loved for five years. If this were yesterday, I would have been deeply touched. "What's all this for?" I asked, cutting into a medium-rare steak, watching the red juices run. "I just... felt like I've been neglecting you lately," Chloe said, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Honey, I know you're still upset about the nightgown." "I swear to you, you're the only man I love. No matter what happens, my heart belongs to you." She reached across the table and placed her hand over mine. Her palm was sweaty, trembling slightly. She was terrified. Of what? That I'd find out? Or that Carter was pushing her too hard? I stared at her for a few seconds. "Chloe, if..." Before I could finish testing her, her phone on the table began to buzz violently. Chloe flinched as if burned, snatching the phone. When she saw the caller ID, all the color drained from her face. She declined the call. Immediately, it buzzed again. This time, it was a FaceTime video call. "Who is it? Why aren't you answering?" I asked, putting down my fork, playing dumb. "Oh... just a spam caller. So annoying." Chloe hurriedly declined it again and flipped the phone face-down on the table. "Honey, my stomach suddenly hurts. I need to use the restroom." She grabbed her phone and bolted into the bathroom. Through the locked door, I couldn't hear her voice. But I knew it was Carter. I pulled out my own phone and opened an app. It was for a new drone I bought a few days ago, equipped with night vision and auto-tracking. Five minutes later, Chloe emerged. She had stripped off the evening gown and was now in a tracksuit and a baseball cap. "Honey, my friend Lily just texted me. She just broke up with her boyfriend and got completely wasted at a bar. I need to go pick her up." Her acting was terrible. She couldn't even look me in the eye. "It's late. Let me drive you," I said, standing up. "No, no!" Chloe reacted violently, taking a step back. "I'll just grab an Uber. You have work tomorrow, you should sleep early." With that, she grabbed her keys from the entryway and rushed out the door. I didn't move. I sat quietly at the table, picking up my drone controller. The drone, parked on the balcony, lifted off silently into the night. On the controller screen, I watched her run out of our apartment building. She didn't call an Uber. Instead, that familiar black Maybach was idling in the shadows near the back gate of our complex. Chloe opened the passenger door and slid inside. The car didn't drive off immediately. Through the night-vision camera, I watched the two silhouettes in the front seat immediately tangle together. The wife I had cherished like a precious treasure was climbing onto another man's lap, kissing him passionately. I shut off the screen. My heart was completely dead.I stood up and scraped the entire candlelit dinner straight into the trash can. Trash belongs in the garbage. I walked into our bedroom and opened Chloe's closet. I used to respect her privacy and never went through her things. Now, I realized what a pathetic fool I had been. Hidden in the very back of the closet, behind clothes she rarely wore, were several bright orange boxes. Hermès. I didn't know much about luxury handbags, but I knew the brand. A single one of those bags cost more than my entire annual salary. Then I found her jewelry boxes. Cartier bracelets, Bulgari necklaces, Van Cleef & Arpels clover pendants. Combined, these pieces easily totaled hundreds of thousands of dollars. There was no way we could afford this on our salaries. So this was her "overtime." This was her "bonus." This was what she meant by "working hard for our future." She certainly was working hard—on her back in Carter Hayes's bed. I took the luxury items out one by one and lined them up on the bed. It felt like arranging an exhibition of betrayal. How ironic. I had worked myself to the bone for Hayes Group, earning a modest salary. Meanwhile, my boss slept with my wife and threw her a few luxury bags—gifts worth years of my hard work—as a reward. What was I? Just a fool kept in the dark? At 2:00 AM, the front door clicked open. Chloe was back. She crept in quietly, keeping the lights off, trying to slip straight into the bedroom. Click. I flicked the living room light switch. The sudden brightness made her wince, shielding her eyes. I was sitting on the sofa. In front of me on the coffee table were her luxury bags and jewelry. Right next to them lay my printed travel itinerary. "H-Honey?" Chloe gasped, her face still flushed. She had changed into a different outfit. Her hair was damp, smelling of expensive hotel body wash. "Why are you still awake?" She offered a strained laugh, her eyes darting to the luxury stash. Her pupils dilated with panic. "Those... those belong to Lily! She didn't have room at her place, so she asked me to store them here!" Lies slipped past her lips so effortlessly now. I didn't expose her. If she wanted to play a role, I'd let her finish her scene. "I know," I said, standing up and picking up the itinerary. "Carter just called me. There's an emergency at the North Dakota site, and I need to head out tonight." "I was about to leave, but I wanted to see you one last time." Chloe froze. She clearly hadn't expected this reaction. Staring at my calm face, the panic in her eyes slowly morphed into something else. Guilt? Or relief? "That's so sudden..." She stepped closer, reaching out to adjust my collar. I subtly stepped back, avoiding her touch. "Yeah. It's urgent." "Take care of yourself at home." I grabbed my pre-packed suitcase and walked straight to the front door. "Ethan!" Chloe called out behind me. I stopped, but didn't turn around. "Yes?" "Be safe... and come home soon." Her voice trembled. A cold smirk played on my lips. Come home soon? To keep watching your little show? "Don't worry," I said, opening the door and stepping into the dark hallway. "By the time I get back, everything will be over." Behind me, Chloe suddenly clutched her chest, a sudden, inexplicable wave of dread washing over her. But I didn't go to the airport. Instead, I hailed a cab and drove straight to a 24-hour internet café downtown. I booked a private booth and booted up the computer. The moment my fingers touched the keyboard, I felt alive again. Since they had pushed me to the edge, I was going to push them off the cliff. I pulled out a burner phone and dialed a number I hadn't called in years. Arthur Hayes's private line. "Hello? Who is this?" Arthur's aged but authoritative voice came through the receiver. "Mr. Hayes. It's Ethan Vance." "Ethan? What's going on this late?" "Nothing major." I watched the lines of code scrolling rapidly across my screen, my voice as cold as ice. "I just wanted to let you know." "The money you gave me for college, plus ten years of interest... I have repaid it a hundred times over with my decade of hard labor for your company." "As of this moment, I don't owe the Hayes family a single thing." "I just hope you can handle what comes next."