“Emotional decisions destroy companies,” he warned Jonathan.
“You’re playing with fire.”
Jonathan said nothing.
But the warning wasn’t empty.
Weeks later—
everything exploded.
“This is unacceptable!” Collins shouted in the boardroom.
“You’re wasting company resources on personal nonsense!”
Executives murmured.
Tension filled the air.
“She’s not nonsense,” Jonathan said calmly. “She’s an investment.”
“Investment?” Collins laughed. “An uneducated cleaner and her kids?”
Silence.
Maria stood outside the door—
hearing everything.
Her heart shattered.
She was about to walk away—
when Jonathan’s voice stopped her.
“Watch what you say,” he said firmly.
“That woman has more value than most people in this room.”
Collins smiled.
But it wasn’t friendly.
“Then be ready for consequences.”
And he walked out.
That’s when the war began.
The attacks were quiet.
Files disappearing.
Mistakes appearing out of nowhere.
Rumors spreading.
Everything pointing at Maria.
Until one day—
the accusation came.
“Fifty thousand dollars is missing,” Collins said coldly.
“And it traces back to your assistant’s terminal.”
Maria felt the world collapse.
“I didn’t do anything…”
No one believed her.
The same story again.
The poor one.
The easy target.