Chapter 4: CEO Reveal—No More Pretending

Lucas quarantined at my house for a few days. Once we were both clear, I took him to my company to give him some work experience.

As soon as we walked in, I spotted two familiar figures at the front desk—Patricia Parker and Emily Reed. They’d already teamed up?

It had been days—Patricia must have recovered and was back to causing trouble.

I heard her shrill voice arguing with the receptionist:

"Appointment? Are you kidding? Savannah Carter is just a low-level employee—why all the fuss?"

Emily stood beside her, looking sweet and docile:

"Mrs. Parker, maybe Miss Carter is really busy… But as a regular employee, she can’t be that busy, right? Maybe she’s just avoiding you."

I nearly laughed. One was a brainless shrew, the other a scheming fake innocent. Together, they were a real comedy act.

Just then, Emily suddenly turned away, covering her mouth and dry heaving.

Lucas and I exchanged glances—we both knew what that meant. Morning sickness. So she hadn’t gotten rid of the baby after all.

She turned back and met my eyes, blurting out:

"Savannah Carter!"

We’d never met, but she recognized me immediately—clearly, she’d done her homework.

Patricia sneered:

"Late to work again—must be used to living off my son these past few years."

Emily chimed in:

"What can you do, Mrs. Parker? Evan is just too responsible."

I kept a straight face. The two of them were practically doing a comedy routine.

Lucas nudged me and whispered:

"Sis, this is the mother-in-law you picked for yourself? Dumb and mean. You really were blind."

Patricia finally noticed Lucas, looked us up and down, and her face changed:

"So that’s it, Savannah—you found someone new! No wonder you turned on us. You must’ve gotten plenty from my son to afford a young pretty boy like this."

I sneered:

"Mrs. Parker, this is a company, not a place for drama. Leave now, or I’ll have security escort you out."

She pointed at me:

"What, trying to kick me out because you’re guilty? I know about that house in your name! You lied to Evan, saying you rented it. You were just pretending to be poor to get his money!"

She threw up her hands, fuming. Emily patted her back, pretending to comfort her.

Lucas stood nearby, arms crossed, clearly enjoying the show.

Patricia put on a heartbroken face:

"My poor son has been tricked by you for three years—who knows how much money you took!"

I replied coldly:

"Just say what you want."

She finally revealed her true motive:

"Sell the house and give us two hundred grand! Or I’ll sue you for fraud!"

Fraud. Hilarious.

I replied meaningfully:

"Go ahead, sue me. Let’s see who ends up worse."

I turned to call security, but just then, the elevator doors opened—Evan walked in.

"Mom, what are you doing here?"

He rushed to her side. She pulled him aside, whispering:

"I’m just worried about you! You said your loan is due soon, so I want her to sell the house to pay your debt. She’s been living off you for three years—she has to pay!"

She tried to whisper, but I heard every word.

I glanced at Evan, curious how he’d react. After all, he knew how much I’d done for him. Would he clear things up?

He didn’t. He just looked embarrassed and said nothing, tacitly agreeing with his mom.

His former pride was now just pathetic vanity. He’d probably let his mom believe he’d spent all his money on me, just to save face.

I smirked, but felt nothing. People have to learn from disappointment.

Maybe feeling ashamed, he tried to pull his mom away:

"Let’s go, Mom. Stop making a scene."

But she wouldn’t budge:

"No way! Savannah Carter needs to pay back every cent she took from you! I’m not leaving!"

She plopped down on the floor.

Since Evan showed up, Emily acted even more delicate, gently comforting Patricia:

"Mrs. Parker, don’t get upset. It’s not worth it. Listen to Evan—he knows what he’s doing."

Patricia got up, fussing over Emily’s belly:

"Emily, you’re pregnant, you need to be careful. Evan, take her home. I’ll be fine here—she’s just a low-level employee, what can she do?"

Emily smiled sweetly, but shot me a smug look.

She really was pregnant. With the virus going around, she was risking a lot to curry favor.

Lucas and I exchanged meaningful glances. As for Evan, he just looked more and more agitated.

"Miss Reed, you’re pregnant? How long? Who’s the father?"

I looked at her with a half-smile.

She looked uncomfortable, picking up on my meaning. But I didn’t press further:

"No wonder, after Evan tested positive, he’d rather go home and infect his parents than come to you. Guess he was worried about your baby. Too bad… that baby…"

Her face changed, quickly interrupting me, looking aggrieved:

"Miss Carter! What do you mean? I know you like Evan, but… he and I truly love each other."

Evan’s face darkened:

"Savannah, watch your mouth. If you have a problem, take it out on me, not Emily."

He looked at her with deep affection. She smiled sweetly back.

He wasn’t even pretending anymore.

Lucas couldn’t take it anymore. He sneered, walked up to Evan, and punched him right in the face:

"You call yourself a man? Living off a woman and still acting tough?"

Lucas always protected me. He kicked and punched Evan, who was still recovering and completely outmatched.

Patricia cursed from the sidelines, worried about her son. I just watched coldly.

Soon, the commotion drew the attention of other employees, but seeing it was me, no one dared get too close.

Patricia, noticing the audience, raised her voice, pointing at me and Lucas:

"Savannah Carter, you cheated first with this pretty boy! How dare you hit my son? I’ll call the police!"

Lucas ignored her, beating Evan until I finally said:

"Enough. Don’t disturb the staff."

I paid these people to make me money, not watch my drama.

Lucas stopped, shrugging innocently.

Just then, Mr. Daniels from Sales rushed over.

Patricia saw someone in authority and blocked him:

"Are you the manager?"

He glanced at me, then replied:

"I’m the sales manager. What’s the issue?"

She pointed at me:

"Perfect! Look at this employee—lazy, late, lying, fighting. Fire her before she ruins your company!"

Mr. Daniels looked at her like she’d lost her mind:

"Are you blind or stupid? She’s our CEO—President Savannah Carter!"

Now Patricia, Emily, and Evan were all stunned, eyes wide, mouths open. Evan stammered:

"How is that possible… This company… isn’t it a subsidiary of Carter Real Estate Group? How could you be the CEO?"

Mr. Daniels sneered:

"Don’t you know who the chairman of Carter Real Estate is?"

Evan muttered:

"James Carter…"

He finally realized.

Mr. Daniels finished him off:

"That’s our chairman’s daughter—President Carter! Why couldn’t she be the CEO?"

Evan’s face froze.

I looked at him and smirked:

"I tried to play it low-key, but I’m done pretending. Because you, Evan Parker, aren’t worth it. Mr. Daniels, have security show them out."

Security came and dragged the three of them out, still looking like they were dreaming.

Especially Evan—his expression was a mess. He looked like he wanted to ask, beg, scream, and cry—all at once.

"Wait."

I thought of something.

Security stopped.

Evan’s eyes lit up, thinking I’d changed my mind.

I said coldly:

"Evan, remember to repay Carter Holdings’ loan in three days. If you can’t… let me tell you, their legal team has never lost a case."

Without even glancing at his face, I waved them off.

After that, I didn’t have to chase the debt myself. Evan’s company was on the brink. I had someone investigate and found financial irregularities, then handed everything to Carter Holdings’ lawyers. The rest, I left to Lucas.

Our family is in real estate—we never let people get away with not paying up. With elite lawyers and tough debt collectors, Evan caved fast. He finally realized the 'rich friend' who lent him money was me. Now he was sorry.

Every day, my phone was flooded with his apology texts:

"I’m sorry, Savannah, I really know I was wrong. Can we start over? For the sake of our three years together, please don’t be so hard on me. Savannah, do you really not love me anymore? Don’t you remember our college days? I keep dreaming about us. Do you really want to be so heartless? Savannah Carter, can I see you one more time? I miss you…"

Ugh. I nearly puked.

Since my number was tied to work, I couldn’t change it easily. So I kept blocking him, but he just kept switching numbers.

Finally, out of options, he offered to transfer his parents’ house to me as repayment.

Lucas laughed at that:

"Sis, I checked out that house. The area seems remote now, but there’s news a top high school will be built nearby. In two years, it’ll be in a top school district—prices could triple. Sell it, and you’ll get half a million. You’ll clear the debt and make a profit. Did you plan this all along?"

Evan had no idea about the new school, but our company always knew the city’s plans. It was a sure thing.

I just smiled and shook my head.

"Lucas, don’t be petty. Our family deals in real estate—do we need his little house? But debt is debt. He owes me."

It wasn’t just about the money. It was about three years of my life I wasted on him. He had to pay for all of it.

I knew he was broke now. Not my problem. He had money to send Emily big transfers before, after all.

Later, I heard he grabbed the house deed from his mom. She threw a fit, but faced with the evidence I gave him, he had no choice. He even sent his mom back to their hometown.

As for Emily…

She never imagined Evan was actually broke. When her plan fell through, she went to the hospital to get an abortion, but the doctor said she’d had too many before and another would be risky—she might never get pregnant again. She broke down and fought with Evan constantly.

Lucas saw them arguing when he went to handle the property transfer.

Evan put up with her only because of the baby. Emily hated him, but had no better options.

Lucas told me all this like it was a joke, but I just found it pathetic.

Why go looking for love in the trash?

At least I saw through him in time. But there are so many people still lost, like Evan—he still didn’t know he was being cheated on.