Chapter 2 - The Woman He Tried to Erase
For several seconds, no one moved.
A hotel employee hurried forward to clear the broken glass, but Chairman Qin raised one hand.
“Leave it.”
The employee froze.
Victor looked directly at Mandy.
“Perhaps Miss Lin should see what happens when someone holds too tightly to something that does not belong to her.”
Mandy’s lips parted.
“Chairman Qin, I’m so sorry. The glass slipped.”
Victor’s eyes moved to the diamond necklace.
“I wasn’t talking about the glass.”
A murmur swept through the guests.
Mandy instinctively touched the necklace.
Ethan stepped forward.
“Dad, this is your birthday. We shouldn’t create an unpleasant scene.”
Victor’s expression remained cold.
“You created the scene. I merely entered it.”
Ethan glanced at Serena.
“Can we speak privately?”
Serena released Victor’s arm.
“You had three hours to speak privately with me.”
“Not here.”
“You chose to bring your secretary here wearing jewelry you bought behind my back. I didn’t choose this setting.”
Mandy forced a laugh.
“There must be some misunderstanding. Mr. Qin purchased this necklace as a professional gift.”
Serena turned to her.
“For whom?”
Mandy hesitated.
“For me.”
“Then it wasn’t a professional gift.”
“I received it because of my work.”
“What kind of work earns an eighty-thousand-dollar diamond necklace?”
Several guests turned away to hide their reactions.
Mandy’s face flushed.
Ethan lowered his voice.
“Serena, enough.”
She looked at him calmly.
“No. I don’t think it is.”
Victor struck the tip of his cane against the floor.
“My daughter-in-law has the right to ask why her husband’s secretary arrived at a family banquet wearing a necklace purchased with money from a marital account.”
Mandy’s eyes widened.
Ethan looked sharply at Serena.
“You checked my statements?”
“The statement was delivered to our home.”
“That doesn’t mean you had the right to interrogate my expenses.”
Serena stared at him.
“We have been married for ten years, Ethan. You used to ask my opinion before buying a desk chair. Now you spend eighty thousand dollars on another woman and call my question an interrogation.”
“This is exactly why I told you to stay home.”
Victor’s face darkened.
“You told her to stay home because you knew you would be exposed.”
Ethan turned toward his father.
“I told her to stay home because she makes every corporate event personal.”
Serena gave a quiet, incredulous laugh.
“I organized this banquet.”
“You chose flowers and food.”
“I negotiated the hotel contract, coordinated security, arranged the entertainment, approved the seating plan, and contacted half the guests in this room.”
Mandy crossed her arms.
“Your name wasn’t on the planning committee.”
Serena looked at her.
“My name didn’t need to be. I wasn’t doing it for attention.”
“That’s convenient.”
Victor turned to Mandy.
“You seem very comfortable challenging a member of my family.”
Mandy immediately softened her expression.
“I apologize, Chairman. I only meant that Mr. Qin has been under tremendous pressure. I have been helping him manage company matters.”
“By sending photographs to his wife?”
Silence fell again.
Mandy’s eyes snapped toward Serena.
Ethan’s head turned.
“What photograph?”
Serena removed her phone from her clutch.
“The one Mandy sent me at eight o’clock.”
Mandy shook her head quickly.
“I didn’t send anything.”
Serena opened the message and held up the screen.
The photograph was unmistakable.
Ethan’s face tightened.
He turned on Mandy.
“You took that in the car?”
“I—”
“You said you were checking your makeup.”
“I was.”
“And then you sent it to my wife?”
Mandy’s panic shifted into irritation.
“She deserved to know the truth.”
“What truth?” Serena asked.
“That Ethan is tired of pretending your marriage still matters.”
Ethan caught Mandy’s arm.
“Stop talking.”
She pulled away.
“Why? You said the same thing last night.”
Gasps and whispers spread through the crowd.
Serena’s expression did not change, but Ethan looked as though he had been struck.
“Mandy,” he said through clenched teeth, “go wait in the private lounge.”
“No.”
“That was not a request.”
“You promised you would introduce me tonight.”
Victor’s gaze sharpened.
“Introduce you as what?”
Mandy looked at Ethan, expecting him to answer.
He didn’t.
“As director of the new strategic investment division,” she said.
One of the board members, Harold Wei, stepped forward.
“What new investment division?”
Ethan forced himself to regain control.
“We were going to discuss it after dinner.”
Harold frowned.
“I am on the appointments committee. I have seen no proposal.”
“It is still being finalized.”
“Then why did Miss Lin believe she was being appointed tonight?”
Mandy looked around and realized the room had turned against her.
She reached for Ethan’s hand.
He moved it away.
Serena watched the small gesture.
Mandy had entered the ballroom believing Ethan would defend her against everyone.
Now he was distancing himself to protect his career.
It was the first fracture in their alliance.
Victor gestured toward the head table.
“We will continue with dinner.”
Ethan stared at him.
“That’s all?”
“No.”
Victor’s voice lowered.
“That is simply all I am willing to say before I take the stage.”
He offered Serena his arm again.
She accepted it.
As they walked toward the head table, Ethan followed.
“Serena.”
She did not stop.
He stepped in front of her.
“I need five minutes.”
Victor looked at him.
“You have one.”
Ethan glanced around at the watching guests.
“In private.”
Serena considered him for a moment.
Then she said, “The side corridor.”
They moved beyond the ballroom doors into a quieter hallway. Victor remained near the entrance, close enough to intervene but far enough to give them privacy.
Ethan faced Serena.
“What are you doing?”
“I came to your father’s birthday.”
“You came to humiliate me.”
“You brought your mistress to a family banquet.”
“Mandy is not my mistress.”
“She just admitted you told her our marriage no longer mattered.”
“She is emotional. She misunderstood.”
Serena held up the photograph.
“Did she misunderstand when she sat against you? Did she misunderstand when you bought her diamonds? Did she misunderstand when you promised her a director’s position?”
Ethan rubbed a hand over his face.
“The necklace was a mistake.”
“The affair?”
He said nothing.
Serena’s voice became quieter.
“That is what I thought.”
Ethan glanced toward Victor.
“My father is using you.”
“Using me for what?”
“To punish me.”
“Why would he want to punish you?”
“Because he refuses to accept that the company needs new leadership.”
“Does it?”
“Yes.”
“And that leadership should be you?”
“I have spent fifteen years preparing for it.”
“So have many other people.”
His face hardened.
“You know what I’ve done for this company.”
“I know what we did.”
“We?”
Serena stared at him.
“Yes, Ethan. We.”
He laughed bitterly.
“You helped with a few presentations ten years ago.”
“I mortgaged my mother’s apartment to fund your executive program.”
“I paid it back.”
“After you became vice president.”
“I worked for that position.”
“And I cared for your father while you traveled. I entertained investors’ families. I corrected reports you were too tired to finish. I introduced you to the lawyer who saved the Harbor District contract.”
“Are you keeping a scorecard now?”
“No. I stopped keeping one years ago because I thought we were on the same team.”
Ethan looked away.
Serena continued, “When did we stop being a team?”
He did not answer.
“When did Mandy begin?”
“It wasn’t planned.”
“That is not an answer.”
“Six months ago.”
Serena absorbed the confirmation.
Six months.
Half a year of lies, excuses, business trips, and late-night messages.
“Do you love her?”
Ethan’s eyes shifted.
“It’s complicated.”
“It’s actually very simple.”
“Serena—”
“Do you love her?”
“I don’t know.”
She nodded once.
“Then do you love me?”
His silence lasted longer this time.
Finally, he said, “We’ve grown apart.”
Serena’s expression remained steady, but her fingers tightened around the edge of her clutch.
“We didn’t grow apart. You moved away and expected me to remain where you left me.”
“You chose your life.”
“I chose our family.”
“And I never asked you to give up everything.”
“You were grateful when my sacrifices benefited you.”
Ethan lowered his voice.
“Fine. I handled this badly. But we don’t need to destroy ten years over one mistake.”
“One mistake?”
“It should have ended before tonight.”
“But it didn’t.”
“I can end it.”
Serena looked at him carefully.
“Because you regret betraying me?”
He said nothing.
“Or because your father saw you?”
“Why does the reason matter?”
“Because one reason means you still have a conscience. The other means you only have fear.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
“What do you want?”
“For the first time tonight, you’ve asked the correct question.”
“I can give you an apology. We can go home and discuss this.”
“You want me to walk back into that ballroom, smile beside you, and help protect your promotion.”
“You’re my wife.”
“Twenty minutes ago, you didn’t want anyone to see me.”
“That was before Mandy created this disaster.”
Serena almost smiled.
There it was.
Not before he betrayed her.
Before Mandy exposed him.
She turned to leave.
Ethan caught her wrist.
“Serena, my father is planning something.”
She pulled her arm free.
“Yes.”
“You know what it is?”
“Yes.”
“What did he tell you?”
“That is between him and me.”
His face changed.
“He gave you something.”
Serena said nothing.
“I saw the document case in the car.”
“It doesn’t concern you.”
“Everything involving this family concerns me.”
“That principle did not seem important when you were hiding company expenses.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“Has he transferred shares to you?”
Serena’s eyes narrowed.
“You knew about the trust.”
His expression confirmed it.
“My father told me the trust was temporary.”
“He told you what you wanted to hear.”
“You cannot control those shares.”
“I haven’t said I do.”
“You don’t understand corporate governance.”
“I understand it well enough to know you cannot appoint your mistress to a directorship without board approval.”
“She is not—”
“Stop insulting both of us by repeating that lie.”
Ethan took a breath.
“If he gives you voting authority, do not use it tonight.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re angry.”
“I am.”
“You’ll make an emotional decision.”
Serena stepped closer until only a foot separated them.
“For ten years, every decision that helped you was called supportive. Every decision that questioned you was called emotional.”
“That’s not fair.”
“No, Ethan. This is the first fair conversation we have had in years.”
Victor’s voice came from the doorway.
“Your minute is over.”
Ethan looked at his father.
“Dad, what are you planning to announce?”
Victor entered the corridor.
“If you are confident in your actions, why are you afraid of my words?”
“This company cannot survive uncertainty.”
“The uncertainty began when you treated corporate accounts like personal property.”
Ethan went pale.
“I don’t know what Mandy told you.”
“She told me nothing.”
Victor’s eyes were hard.
“Internal audit did.”
Ethan looked toward the ballroom.
“Not here.”
“You were right about one thing,” Victor said. “Not here.”
He turned toward Serena.
“Come. Dinner is beginning.”
At the head table, Mandy sat in the chair traditionally reserved for Serena.
When she saw them approaching, she remained seated.
Serena stopped beside the chair.
Mandy looked up.
“Ethan asked me to sit here.”
Serena replied, “Ethan also asked me to stay home. He is having a difficult evening with his judgment.”
A few guests nearby concealed smiles.
Mandy’s expression sharpened.
“I don’t see another seat.”
Victor pointed with his cane toward a table near the ballroom doors.
“There is one beside the junior administrative staff.”
Mandy flushed.
“I am the vice president’s executive secretary.”
“And tonight,” Victor said, “you will sit according to your official position.”
Mandy looked at Ethan.
He avoided her gaze.
That hurt her more than Victor’s insult.
She stood slowly.
As she passed Serena, she whispered, “You think walking in with an old man means you’ve won?”
Serena’s voice remained soft.
“No. I think your need to say that means you know you’re losing.”
Mandy walked away.
Dinner began under a strained silence.
Ethan barely touched his food.
Victor spoke pleasantly with guests as though nothing unusual had happened.
Serena answered questions, accepted compliments, and refused to look toward Mandy’s table.
Twenty minutes later, the ballroom lights dimmed.
A spotlight illuminated the stage.
The master of ceremonies announced Chairman Qin’s birthday speech.
Victor rose with Serena’s assistance.
Before walking toward the stage, he placed a hand over hers.
“Are you ready?”
Serena looked across the room.
Ethan was watching her.
Mandy was watching Ethan.
The board members were watching Victor.
Serena picked up the sealed document case.
“Yes.”
Victor stepped behind the microphone.
Applause filled the ballroom.
He waited until it faded.
“Thank you all for joining my family tonight,” he began. “A seventieth birthday encourages a man to think about time, loyalty, and legacy.”
Ethan straightened.
Mandy leaned forward.
Victor continued, “Many people assume that legacy is something passed automatically from father to son.”
His gaze settled on Ethan.
“They are wrong.”
The ballroom became perfectly still.
“A legacy must be protected by the person most capable of carrying its values.”
Victor extended one hand toward Serena.
“Serena, please join me.”
She walked onto the stage.
Ethan rose from his chair.
“Dad.”
Victor ignored him.
“For the last ten years, this woman has served my family without title, salary, or recognition. She protected our reputation when others endangered it. She cared for our people when others saw only numbers.”
He turned toward Serena.
“Tonight, I am correcting an old mistake.”
Ethan moved toward the stage.
Victor’s voice thundered through the microphone.
“Sit down.”
Ethan stopped.
Victor faced the guests again.
“Effective immediately, Serena Su Qin will become the voting trustee of the Qin Family Legacy Trust, representing twenty-two percent of Qin Prosperity Group.”
The room erupted in whispers.
Mandy’s mouth fell open.
Ethan stared at Serena in disbelief.
May you like
Victor raised his hand, silencing the room.
“And that is not my only announcement.”
