“I told you I’m in the hospital,” I said, no longer bothering to hide the panic in my voice. “I’m about to give birth. They need payment now. These are not Fergus’s cards. They are mine. Transfer my money back right now or I’m reporting you for theft.”
For the first time, Belinda went silent.
Then the line cut dead.
A text arrived a second later.
Miss Fox, let’s be honest. Every cent you have is Mr. Henson’s money, and you don’t get to wave your wife title around to bully me. I’ve already frozen every account under your name and made sure nobody lends you a thing. When you’re ready to apologize and swear you’ll stop spending Mr. Henson’s money like it’s yours, I’ll think about unlocking them.
I read the message once.
Then again.
My vision blurred, but not from fear. Something hot and violent flooded up through my chest, burning through the pain, the humiliation, and the last fragile excuse I had been holding for Fergus. A secretary one month on the job did not freeze the CEO’s wife’s accounts by herself. Not accounts like mine. Not without someone above her holding the door open.
But Fergus?
My husband?
Throwing away everything we had for a girl who had barely learned the building’s floor plan?
I could not make it fit.
I would not.
Before the darkness took me, I managed one more call.
Attorney Pierce answered on the second ring.
“Ma’am?”
“Fire Belinda Swanson,” I said, my voice thin but clear. “Effective immediately. Suspend Fergus Henson from the CEO position. And get Fergus to this hospital within the hour.”
Then the room tilted, the nurse shouted for help, and everything went black.
The Fox family was worth tens of billions, and this generation had produced exactly one heir.
Me.
I could have married into another dynasty and split everything neatly down the middle. Instead, I chose to bring a man into my family, someone who would marry into the Fox name and build what I told him to build, someone I believed was honest enough to stand beside me without needing to own me.
I met Fergus when I was hiding who I was.
I had slipped into Sterling Group as a low-level employee, determined to see the company from the ground before choosing who could help me run it. Fergus Henson had just joined then, fresh out of school, top university, empty pockets, and a quiet gentleness laid over something stubborn and unbreakable.
I noticed him immediately.
He was always the first one in and the last one out while everyone else complained about overtime. He would quietly recheck an entire floor’s worth of reports on his own without making a show of it. A few times when I stayed late, he appeared at my desk with a cup of coffee, ears red to the tips, not quite meeting my eyes.
“It’s too late for you to go home alone,” he would say, reaching awkwardly for my laptop. “I’ll finish this. You head out.”
I used to feel my pulse in my throat for a full minute after he walked away.
But the moment I truly fell for him came during an incident at work. A female colleague stole my project, presented it first, then accused me of plagiarizing her. The general manager backing her wanted me fired on the spot, threatened to hold me liable for leaking company secrets, and demanded compensation.
Fergus had just been dazed from a promotion he was trying not to celebrate too loudly.
Then he slammed both hands on the table and stepped between me and the room.
“Mamie Fox didn’t do this,” he said. “I know her. I’ll stake everything on it. You want to fire someone who’s done nothing wrong? Then this company can’t tell right from wrong, and I don’t want any part of it. I’m walking out with her.”
He tore off his name badge, grabbed my hand, and we ran out of the conference room, down the corridor, and through the lobby doors like two reckless people in a story that was just beginning.
Right then, something locked into place inside my chest.
This was the man I wanted to spend my life with.
Still breathless, heart hammering, I grabbed his sleeve outside the building and said, “Fergus, I like you. Do you like me? Marry me. Say yes.”
After the wedding, I stepped away from the company to focus on my health and have my heir as soon as possible. I left Sterling Group in Fergus’s hands, with Attorney Pierce overseeing things alongside him.
And Fergus did not disappoint.
For a while.
The company thrived under his management until a month and a half ago, when he suddenly told me he wanted to recruit a batch of underprivileged graduates from his alma mater. I agreed. Belinda Swanson was one of them.
Within ten days of joining, she had been promoted all the way up to the CEO’s personal secretary.
That was when the whispers began reaching me.
One girl in the secretarial pool pulled me aside and told me Belinda had been carrying homemade lunches into Fergus’s office. She said the two of them ate together behind closed doors and sometimes did not come out for the entire afternoon.
Fergus’s explanation was smooth.
“Belinda works incredibly hard, and she’s talented. I can’t hold that against her just because she’s young and fresh out of school, can I? I only transferred her to be my secretary for work purposes. As for lunch, she’s so dedicated that she keeps working through lunch to help me process documents, so she brings her meal to my office. That’s all.”
Then he looked at me with soft eyes.
“There’s nothing between us. But hey, if it bothers you, if you’re jealous, just say the word and I’ll get rid of her tomorrow.”
I was not the type to meddle with company decisions over gossip. I pulled Belinda’s file myself, sat in on a few meetings she ran, and saw that she was meticulous, capable, and sharp. She knew when to press and when to ease off. She had a hunger I recognized.
I was impressed enough to pay off every cent of her student loans, push through a raise, and promote her to chief secretary. I even warned the staff to stop the rumor mill.
“Stop making up stories about a young woman trying to build a career,” I told them.
I thought I was investing in someone with potential.
Turns out, I was just feeding the wolf inside her.
Continue below
Miss Fox, I’m the one who called the police. Do you even realize that every cent you spend is CEO Henson’s hard-earned money? CEO Henson works himself to the bone, and you’re out here throwing his money around. Starting today, I’m in charge of all your spending. Every single purchase goes through me first. I approve it or you don’t spend it.
Also, your monthly allowance is $500. You’ve already used $499 today. You don’t get to spend another scent this month. She was so serious, so pleased with herself. I laughed. The girl had been at the company one month. My husband was polite to her a few times, and she’d crowned herself his personal manager, stepping in to run his life and mine.
But she had no idea the company was mine. Every dollar in my husband’s bank accounts was mine. Even her salary came from me and her precious Mr. Henen. He married into my family, so who the hell was she to manage my money on his behalf? The officers heard Belinda’s words through the phone, then looked at my screen, showing a shared wallet charge of $352 after coupons. Their faces went dark.
They apologized profusely, promising they’d report the false police call back to my husband’s company, but I was doubled over against the counter, barely standing. It hurts. God, it hurts so bad. I think the baby’s coming. Please, someone get me to a hospital. Everyone scrambled to get me into a car and rushed me there.
They got me checked in and right away they needed payment. I gritted my teeth through the pain and shoved every bank card from my wallet across the counter. A few minutes later, the nurse came back with all of them. Ma’am, your cards have no balance. My whole body went cold. That’s impossible. Those cards had tens of millions between them at least.
How can they be empty? Then Belinda’s words hit me and it clicked. She cleaned out every account. I called my husband. The phone rang a few times and connected. Honey, but it was Belinda’s impatient voice on the other end. Oh, Miss Fox, give it a rest already, so your spending got cut off. What? You couldn’t wait 5 minutes before crying to him about it. Don’t bother.
CEO Henson authorized this himself. I swallowed down the pain and didn’t waste time arguing with her. I’m at the hospital right now. I need money. Give me back what’s mine or put my husband on the phone now. Her voice came through dripping with superiority. CEO Hensen is busy. He doesn’t have time for your little problems.
He handed all of this to me to deal with. You want money? Fine. Do what I told you. Submit a request through the internal approval portal. If I approve it, you’ll get your funds. Oh, and your remaining allowance for the month is $1. Don’t bother requesting more than that. The pain tore through me. My face had gone white. I couldn’t hold back anymore.
I told you I’m in the hospital. I’m about to give birth. They need payment now. These aren’t Ferguson’s cards. They’re mine. Transfer my money back right now or I’m reporting you for theft. Silence on the other end. Then the line cut dead. Belinda’s text came through a second later. Miss Fox, let’s be honest. Every cent you have is Mr.
Henson’s money and you don’t get to wave your wife title around to bully me. I’ve already frozen every account under your name and made sure nobody lends you a thing. When you’re ready to apologize and swear you’ll stop spending Mr. Henson’s money like it’s yours, I’ll think about unlocking them. I read it and my vision blurred.
Something hot and violent flooding up through my chest. Then I was gone. But before the darkness took me, I got the call through to attorney Pierce. I told him to fire Belinda Swanson effective immediately. suspend Fergus Hensen from the CEO position and get Fergus at this hospital within the hour. A junior secretary, one month on the job, no one that low dares freeze the accounts of the CEO’s wife.
Unless someone above her is holding the door open, but Fergus, my husband, throwing away everything we had. For a girl who’d barely learned the building’s floor plan, I couldn’t make it fit. I wouldn’t. And yet, the thought wouldn’t leave. The Fox family was worth tens of billions, and this generation had produced exactly one heir.
I could have married into another dynasty and split everything down the middle. Instead, I chose to bring a man into my family, someone who’d marry into the Fox name and build what I told him to build to find someone honest and steady. I hid who I was and slipped into Sterling Group as a low-level employee. That was the year I met Fergus Henen, fresh out of school and just starting at the company. top university, empty pockets.
But there was a quiet gentleness in him, set over something stubborn and unbreakable. I noticed him right away. He was always the first one in and the last one out while everyone else complained about overtime. He’d quietly recheck an entire floor’s worth of reports on his own a few times. I stayed late and he’d appear at my desk with a cup of coffee, ears read to the tips, not quite meeting my eyes.
Then he’d reach past me for the laptop, voice low and a little unsteady. It’s too late for you to go home alone. I’ll finish this. You head out. I could feel my pulse in my throat for a full minute after he walked away. But the moment I truly fell for him came during an incident at work. A female colleague stole my project, presented at first, then turned around and accused me of plagiarizing her.
The general manager backing her wanted me fired on the spot, threatened to hold me liable for leaking company secrets, and demanded compensation. Fergus was dazed from a promotion. He slammed both hands on the table and stepped between me and the room. Mammy Fox didn’t do this. I know her. I’ll stake everything on it.
You want to fire someone who’s done nothing wrong? Then this company can’t tell right from wrong, and I don’t want any part of it. I’m walking out with her. He tore off his name badge and grabbed my hand, and we ran out of the conference room down the corridor all the way through the lobby doors. Right then, something locked into place inside my chest.
This was the man I was going to spend my life with. I grabbed him, still breathless, heart hammering so hard I could barely get the words out. Fergus, I like you. Do you like me? Marry me. Say yes. After the wedding, I stepped away from the company so I could focus on my health and have my heir. As soon as possible, I left Sterling Group in Ferguson’s hands with attorney Pierce overseeing things alongside him.
And Fergus didn’t disappoint. The company thrived under his management until a month and a half ago when he suddenly told me he wanted to recruit a batch of underprivileged graduates from his alma mater. I agreed. Belinda Swanson was one of them. Within 10 days of joining the company, she’d been promoted all the way up to the CEO’s personal secretary.
That was when the whispers started reaching me. One of the girls in the secretarial pool pulled me aside. Belinda had been carrying homemade lunches into Fergus’s office. She said two of them would eat together behind a closed door and not come out for the entire afternoon. Fergus’s explanation for all of it went like this.
Belinda works incredibly hard and she’s talented. I can’t hold it against her just because she’s young and fresh out of school. Can I? I only transferred her to be my secretary for work purposes. As for the lunch thing, she’s just so dedicated that she keeps working through lunch to help me process documents.
So, she started bringing her meal to my office. That’s all. There’s nothing between us. But hey, if it bothers you, if you’re jealous, just say the word and I’ll get rid of her tomorrow. I wasn’t the type to meddle with the company over gossip and gut feelings. I pulled Belinda’s file myself, sat in on a few meetings she ran.
The girl was meticulous, capable, knew exactly when to press and when to ease off. I was impressed enough to pay off every cent of her student loans, push through a raise, and promote her all the way to chief secretary. I even warned the staff to knock off the rumor mill. Stop making up stories about a young woman who was just trying to build a career.
I thought I was investing in someone with real potential. Turns out I was just feeding the wolf inside her. It started with the door code. She kept saying she needed constant access to pick up documents for Fergus. And before I knew it, she changed the code to our home to her own birthday. When I confronted her, she apologized with tears brimming in her eyes, looking wounded and small.
