What She Overheard in Her Own Marriage novel Chapter 482

The project at Aethelstan had hemorrhaged nearly a billion dollars. Noelle resigned, taking the blame, while the conglomerate absorbed the financial blow. It was exactly the kind of damage control Finnian would execute.

Silas suddenly knocked and walked into her office, carrying a box of chocolates.

"A friend gave these to me, and I honestly can't finish them. Help me out, or maybe give them to Brynlee," Silas said with a warm smile.

Kaia glanced at the chocolates. It was a remarkably expensive luxury brand.

"Then I'll thank you on Brynlee's behalf." Unable to refuse, Kaia accepted the gift. She leaned back in her chair and looked at him. "You mentioned another piece of bad news yesterday. What was it?"

Seeing her calm demeanor, Silas asked, "Did you read the conglomerate's announcement just now?"

"I read it."

Silas let out a cold scoff. "I made a special trip over to Aethelstan earlier. Do you know what rumors they're spreading?"

Kaia's fingers stilled, and she looked up at him.

A mix of heartache and fury swirled in Silas's dark eyes. "They actually have the nerve to claim you deliberately planted a landmine at Aethelstan just to make Noelle a laughingstock. Isn't that utterly ridiculous?"

Kaia's gaze instantly darkened as she lowered her eyes. "Who said that?"

Silas let out a heavy sigh. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to offer her his shoulder to lean on.

She had nurtured that project like her own child for two years, only to watch it fail in someone else's hands, and now they were trying to pin the blame on her. The injustice was staggering.

"Human nature is like the sun—you can't stare at it directly. In this industry... no, just in life, if you succeed, they say you relied on the Sanders family. If you fail, they say you're incompetent. You've been gone from Aethelstan for over a year, and when the project you left behind blows up, they still blame you. You can't win. It's the perfect scapegoat maneuver," Silas vented indignantly. He abruptly stood up. "I'm going over there to tear them a new one. Those shameless bastards..."

"Silas!" Seeing him turn to leave, Kaia quickly stood up and called out to stop him. "The truth will speak for itself. The more you argue about these things, the worse it gets. Just let it go."

The title of Mrs. Sanders held unimaginable weight and wealth; no one would surrender it without a fight.

Noelle only had the audacity to challenge Kaia because she was the boss's childhood friend. Anyone else wouldn't dare make such a blatant move for her husband.

In their eyes, Kaia was equally ruthless—she didn't scream or shout, but she could easily set a professional trap that would leave Noelle face-first in the dirt.

Standing in the breakroom, Kaia watched the fiery sunset out the window. Tomorrow would be a clear, sunny day, but right now, she just felt an overwhelming exhaustion, a deep, bone-weary fatigue she couldn't shake.

She had done everything right, yet she still couldn't escape the baseless paranoia and rumors.

She wasn't going to take the fall for a crime she didn't commit. She needed to gather her evidence and hit back.

Just as Kaia reached for her phone to call the archives department at Aethelstan, the conglomerate issued another Internal Memo later that afternoon.