The Fall of Daddy

The new intern had a habit of calling my husband "Daddy." "Daddy, I am having the worst luck today. Could you please go buy me some feminine products?" "Daddy, I cannot get the zipper on my dress unstuck. Can you help me?" "Daddy, why do you not have my hair tie around your wrist? I think you deserve a punishment. Wear two. Pink ones, okay?" I frowned as irritation simmered beneath the surface. My husband waved it off with a casual smile. "She is just being playful. Do not take it seriously. She is young and enjoying the novelty. She will get over it soon enough." I said nothing. I waited until the night of the company’s annual gala. She suddenly stumbled in front of everyone and fell straight into my husband’s arms. Her eyes glistened with tears as she looked up at him. Her voice sounded soft and pitiful. "Daddy, my foot hurts so badly. I think I twisted my ankle." To my disbelief, my husband crouched down in front of the entire room, slipped off her high heels, and gently massaged her ankle. The room fell silent. No one seemed to know where to look. A few people turned toward me with clear sympathy in their eyes. I rose from my seat in a calm and unhurried manner. "Since everyone is here, I have an announcement to make." I looked around the room before I delivered the words that stopped every conversation. "As of tonight, the company will have a new CEO." The intern shot to her feet. "What?" She stared at me in disbelief. Her expression twisted with anger. "You are nothing but his wife. What makes you think you have the right to take Daddy’s position?" I smiled. I turned toward my husband, who had remained silent throughout the entire exchange. "Seth Hawkins. "Tell her. "Do I have the right?" Chapter 1 At the company’s annual gala, the host read out the winner of the third‑place prize. "Xena." Xena Lynch jumped to her feet with a cheer and pulled her already low‑cut dress down another two inches. Every eye in the room locked onto her. More accurately, onto the distracting expanse of bare skin above her neckline. "Ouch!" She let out a perfectly timed cry. Then she stumbled to the side and caught herself with one hand on the floor. Her eyes filled with tears. "Daddy, I twisted my ankle in my heels. It hurts!" The entire ballroom went silent. Seth Hawkins rose from the head table and hurried onto the stage. He crouched in front of Xena and lifted her foot with care. "How did you manage to be so careless?" Xena bit her lower lip, which made her eyes look even redder. "Daddy, it really hurts." Seth slipped off her high heel. Then he wrapped one hand around her foot and gently massaged her ankle. His movements looked far too natural. Clearly, this was not the first time. I remembered what had happened last month when I had a migraine and asked him to massage my temples. He had frowned and said, "My wrist hurts. You should go see a physical therapist." The contrast was painful to watch. Seth looked up at Xena with nothing but concern in his eyes. "Just bear with it for a little while. I will rub it for you. It will feel better." He lowered his head and gently blew on the reddened skin. The ballroom fell completely silent. I felt the employees at the tables behind me staring. Some looked curious, some looked sympathetic, and others clearly enjoyed the spectacle. Noelle, our finance director, sat beside me. She cleared her throat as if she wanted to speak. I raised a hand and stopped her. Onstage, Xena looked over Seth’s head and locked eyes with me. The corners of her lips curled into a smile, and her voice became even softer. "Ms. Yates, please do not take it the wrong way. Daddy is just used to taking care of me." She reached out and ruffled Seth’s hair. The gesture looked intimate, possessive, and openly provocative. The champagne glass in my hand trembled slightly. I had taken a year away from the company because I wanted to have a second child. I never imagined that so much could happen in one year. Xena had joined the company only six months ago. I had heard the rumors. She liked calling Seth "Daddy." She had worn his jacket and drunk from his cup. "Daddy, I am having the worst luck today. Could you please go buy me some feminine products? "Daddy, I cannot get the zipper on my dress unstuck. Can you help me? "Daddy, why do you not have my hair tie around your wrist? I think you deserve a punishment. Wear two. Pink ones, okay?" My most trusted employee had told me all of that. I had confronted Seth. He had waved his hand, completely unconcerned. "She is just fooling around. Once the novelty wears off, she will stop. "If there were really something going on between us, do you think I would let the whole company know about it?" I had thought about it. He had a point. Anyone with sense would not make an affair that obvious. However, I never expected the two of them to behave like that in front of the entire company at the annual gala. Apparently, after becoming CEO, Seth had left his common sense behind. He thought that because I had been tied up raising our second child, he could lift his chin and act as if he were the one in charge of Starlight Technologies. Slowly, I stood up and clapped three times. The crisp sound of my applause cut through the silence and made every head in the room turn toward me. Seth’s hands froze, and he whipped around to look at me. A flash of panic crossed his face as he seemed to remember that this was not a private moment inside the office. I was there. I had never been the kind of woman who tolerated betrayal. Xena’s smile grew sweeter, as if she had waited for this exact moment. "Mr. Hawkins is just showing concern for an employee. We should not let it interfere with the annual gala." I looked at the host. "Please continue." The host nodded. "Now, let us begin the drawing for the second‑place prize." Xena kept whining sweetly. "Daddy, my foot still hurts. Can you carry me downstairs?" Seth lowered his voice. Embarrassment flickered across his face. "Xena, stop it." I did not watch the rest of the raffle. I stood and went to the restroom. I needed to think. Should I tear everything apart in front of everyone, or wait until the annual gala ended? Suddenly, my phone rang. It was the nanny calling from home. "Mrs. Hawkins, Sunny wants to video chat with you." My daughter held the nanny’s phone. She gave me a sweet smile. "Mommy, when are you and Daddy coming home? My little brother is already asleep." She was only five. Her innocent question softened the bitterness in my chest. "Not for a little while longer. Be a good girl and go to sleep first, okay?" "Okay, Mommy. Love you." The call had barely ended when the restroom door swung open. Chapter 2 When Xena walked in, her steps looked steady and confident. "Mrs. Hawkins, it looks like staying home really was more suitable for you." The corners of her lips lifted in a challenging smile. "The company has me and Daddy. That is all we need." I looked up and studied her properly for the first time. She was young and beautiful with a great figure. Her sweet, breathy voice and delicate mannerisms made her hard to ignore. Life was fair in its own way. It had given her beauty, but it had forgotten to give her a brain. I gave a soft laugh. "You know Seth has a daughter, right? She is only five years old. "You are twenty‑two. Do you really have no shame calling him Daddy?" Xena covered her mouth and giggled. "You really do not get it. "He liked me calling him that. It was part of our little game." She looked me up and down. "I heard you were thirty‑five this year. You looked more like forty‑five." She winked at me. "Especially these lines around your eyes. Tsk. You should get some work done." I did not respond. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. Even with heavier makeup than usual, I still looked bright and striking. She was just a young girl. She had no right to criticize me. When Xena saw that I was not getting angry, she stepped closer and lowered her voice. "Daddy told me last night that you were like a dead fish in bed. He said after seven years of marriage, being with you every time felt like he was checking something off his to‑do list." My fingers curled into tight fists as I glared at her. She knew exactly what she was doing. She wanted to provoke me. "Oh, do not get mad." Xena smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "Men were like that. They preferred someone young and full of energy." She pulled a bottle of perfume from her purse and sprayed some on herself. "This was a custom‑made perfume for me and Daddy. You must have smelled it when he came home, right?" I frowned slightly as the familiar scent reached me. I had smelled it many times before, and because I was allergic to perfume, I had always hated it. Xena smiled. "Here was my advice. Stay home like a good wife and stop coming to the company to stir things up. "Otherwise, you and your children would be kicked out of the house sooner or later." Kick me out? Interesting, I thought. I had no idea what Seth had told her to give her that kind of blind confidence. I glanced at her and let the meaning of my look sink in. "Did Seth know you told me all this?" Xena smiled smugly. "Why did that matter? "He could spoil me in front of the entire company. If I did not tell you, do you think you would not figure it out yourself?" I nodded slowly. "So, you did it on purpose just now?" "Of course." Her expression hardened. "Old woman, you could not beat me." She reached into her purse and tossed something onto the counter. It was a condom. The wrapper looked crumpled. "We used it in Daddy’s office last night." She said it as casually as if she were talking about the weather. "I forgot to throw it away. I hope you do not mind." For a second, I forgot how to breathe. She had provoked me again and again, and it was clear she had come prepared. She wanted me to lose my temper. She wanted me to make a scene. Fine. If that was what she wanted, I could give her exactly that. I slowly raised my hand. The restroom door suddenly swung open. Tracy, the head of the sales department, rushed inside with a pale and urgent expression. She did not look at Xena. She grabbed my arm. "Ms. Yates, there is an emergency!" She dragged me out of the restroom. Behind us, Xena gave a soft laugh. "Take care, Ms. Yates." Chapter 3 Tracy pulled me into the stairwell before she finally let go. She breathed hard as she pulled her phone from her pocket. "You need to see this." On her screen was a conversation from an internal company chat group called "Office Gossip." I knew about the group. Three months earlier, the IT department had brought it to my attention. "Someone created an anonymous gossip group. Do you want us to do something about it?" At the time, I had said only one thing. "As long as it does not interfere with work, leave them alone." I never imagined that the group would end up putting on such a show. The latest message had been posted twenty minutes earlier. [Holy crap! Xena just called Mr. Hawkins Daddy onstage, and Mr. Hawkins actually went up there and rubbed her foot!] [I knew those two were up to something.] [That cup on Xena's desk is exactly the same as Mr. Hawkins's. They are matching couple's cups.] Tracy scrolled through the messages. "Scroll up." I scrolled back. Three days earlier. [I secretly took a picture of Xena wearing Mr. Hawkins's shirt!] The picture looked a little blurry, but it was clear enough to show Xena wearing Seth's white dress shirt with nothing underneath it. The comments underneath were even worse. [Wow, that figure is incredible!] [I could practically hear her from here. She was so loud. I guess she thought nobody would notice because everyone was working late.] [Poor Ms. Yates. She stayed home working so hard to give him a child, while he was cheating on her behind her back.] Seven days earlier. [I screenshotted Xena's social media post. You guys have to see this.] In the screenshot, two hands were intertwined. The man wore a Patek Philippe watch. It was the watch I had given Seth for his fortieth birthday. The woman's fingers looked slender, her nails painted a soft nude pink. A pink hair tie was wrapped around her wrist. The caption read: [Celebrating our ninety‑ninth day with Daddy.] There were even more disgusting messages in the chat. I did not want to read any further. Tracy kept scrolling until she reached the newest messages. Five minutes earlier. [Look! Xena followed Ms. Yates into the restroom!] [What the hell is that bitch trying to do?] [What else? She is showing off. I heard Mr. Hawkins promised to marry her.] [Marry her? Does Mr. Hawkins not already have a wife?] [New here? Everyone knows Mr. Hawkins only climbed this high because of his wife's connections and resources. Now that he thinks he has made it, he wants to dump her and fly solo.] [What did Xena say to Ms. Yates in the restroom? Did anyone hear?] [Could not make out everything, but I am sure it was nothing good. That girl calls him Daddy all day at the office. It is disgusting.] [Once Daddy and Ms. Yates get divorced, I will be Mrs. Hawkins! Xena said it herself outside the restroom ten minutes ago. I even recorded it.] Tracy tapped the audio file. Xena's voice came through the phone, dripping with smug satisfaction. "That old woman looked like a miserable crow in that black dress today. Daddy says she has been getting more and more boring lately. Once they get divorced, the company will be mine..." The recording cut off there. Tracy looked at me with anger and worry written across her face. "Ms. Yates, this..." I closed my eyes. Three seconds. One deep breath. When I opened them again, every emotion had been pushed down. "Give me the phone." Tracy handed it over. I transferred all the screenshots and the recording to my Messenger, then made three phone calls. Chapter 4 The first person I called was our general counsel. "Mr. Walker, I need Seth's personal banking records from the past year, along with the financial records for every project he had been involved with. I needed them now." The second call was to my assistant. "Mr. Zeller, prepare a statement announcing the change of CEO at Starlight Technologies immediately. Also, notify the IT department to take control of the main screen at the annual gala. I will text you the authorization code." The third call was to the head of security. "Mr. Ellison, bring four men to the main ballroom and wait for my instructions." After I hung up, I looked at Tracy. "Thank you for everything tonight." Tracy shook her head. "Ms. Yates, I have worked for you for ten years. Mr. Hawkins has gone too far." "I know." I straightened my dress and gave myself one final look in the mirror. My lipstick still looked perfect, my eyeliner had not smudged, and not a single strand of hair was out of place. The woman staring back at me was thirty‑five, with fine lines at the corners of her eyes. Her gaze looked sharp. Seth. Xena. You wanted to put on a big show? Fine. I would play along. When I walked back into the ballroom, the atmosphere had changed. Everyone watched me with complicated expressions. The raffle onstage had already been rushed to an end. It was almost time for the closing speech. In previous years, Seth had always given it. He and Xena had already returned to the head table. Xena leaned against his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Seth absently patted her back and occasionally glanced in my direction. The moment he saw me return, he stood up. "Lilian, about Xena earlier..." "It is fine." I smiled as I walked past him without slowing down. "She is young. She does not know any better." Xena lifted her head. A flash of surprise crossed her face. She had expected me to explode. I did not. I walked straight to the podium and took the microphone from the host. "Everyone, I will give the closing speech tonight." The entire ballroom fell silent as everyone stared at me. Seth frowned. "Lilian..." There was a trace of concern in his eyes. My behavior looked far too unusual. A smug smile spread across Xena's lips. She looked straight at me and mouthed each word, her expression daring me to react. "Finally. You could not hold it in anymore. "Go ahead. Make a scene. "Rich people care about appearances the most. The bigger the scandal, the faster I can take your place." I gave a slight nod toward the control room. The raffle page on the main screen went black. Then the screen lit up again. The moment the first PowerPoint slide appeared, the color drained from Seth's face. Xena shot to her feet. "Turn off the screen right now!"