The Betrayal Of My Secretary, Bank Account Closed

My secretary was out there playing the trust-fund billionaire. He had even become a massive influencer, with millions of followers fawning over him.

He built his fame by streaming lies about me, claiming I was involved with illegal substances just to get views.

When my father tried to clear my name, the guy twisted the narrative. He made it look like we were using old money and power to sweep things under the rug, triggering a wave of online harassment.

The resulting hate campaign destroyed my family.

He grew fat and rich by feasting on the ruins of my life.

But then, I opened my eyes and I was back.

I looked at my secretary, who was currently holding my black card and shouting, "Everything is on me tonight!"

I immediately froze the account, turned off my phone, and walked out of the club.

"Everyone, enjoy yourselves! Everything is on my tab tonight!"

The loud declaration cut through the thumping bass of the club. I snapped my eyes open to see Lance Lockwood standing under the neon lights, looking like he owned the world.

"Lance is the man!" The crowd roared. I looked up, seeing him bask in the spotlight like he was some chosen prince.

Lance noticed my stare and waved me over. "Hey, let me introduce you. This is my wingman."

A girl followed his gaze and looked me up and down. Seeing my plain hoodie, she let out a scoff.

"Lance, your little friend doesn't look nearly as generous as you. You're buying the whole house drinks, and he hasn't even offered a glass of water."

"Lance, you are literally a god!" another girl squealed, pressing against him. "I have to post this on my story. My friends are going to die of jealousy!"

Before I could even process what was happening, someone shoved me into the corner of the velvet sofa. A girl in a micro-skirt squeezed in, whispering to her friends.

"This guy is just taking up space. Get him out of here so he doesn't kill the vibe for Lance."

Lance stood in the center of the girls, shooting me a playful, mocking wink. His eyes said it all: "I'm giving you a chance to be part of my world, and you're wasting it."

The girl in the micro-skirt clung to Lance's arm, giggling. "Lance, don't mind him. He's just sitting there drinking alone. He'll probably bore himself to death."

Lance turned back to her and grinned. "Forget about him. Let's keep the party going."

He raised his glass. "Cheers, everyone!"

I sat there dazed, feeling like I was in a dream, but a cold fire started burning in my chest. I had really come back.

In my past life, it was exactly like this. I had just returned from studying abroad and had no real social circle.

Lance, who had just become my secretary, volunteered to help me network. He used my card every single day to throw these massive parties.

He invited all sorts of lowlifes to leech off my wealth, and everyone thought he was the one paying. They worshipped him while I was pushed into the shadows.

If that had been the end of it, maybe I wouldn't be so bitter.

But then I remembered the feeling of cold steel sliding into my ribs, over and over again. I looked at Lance, who was currently flirting with three girls at once.

I made a silent vow: Last time, I was blind. This time, everything changes. You owe me, Lance. And I'm going to collect every cent.

While no one was looking, I pulled out my phone. I opened my banking app and froze every single card associated with that account.

Then, I powered down the phone, stood up, and walked out without looking back.

In my previous life, I hadn't even driven through the mansion gates before Lance came rushing out. His eyes were full of desperation, his face a mask of pure agony.

"Save me! I'll do anything!" His voice was trembling, sounding like he was on the verge of a total breakdown.

I had stopped the car, looking at his miserable state with a flicker of sympathy. After all, I couldn't forget that his father, Arthur Lockwood, had saved my father's life years ago.

"What's going on?" I had asked him.

"Kian, please! My dad racked up three million in gambling debts. They're going to take my organs to pay it off! Please, have mercy on me!" He had sobbed at my feet.

I took a deep breath, my heart heavy. Arthur had ended up with a permanent limp while saving my father. I couldn't ignore that debt of honor.

I paid off his gambling debts and hired Lance as my personal assistant. Later, he became my secretary.

I trusted him just as my father trusted Arthur. I had no idea that trust would be my downfall.

Once the debts were cleared, Arthur came back to work as our estate manager. Lance moved into the guest wing of the mansion, claiming he needed to be on call 24/7.

One day, Lance suddenly said to me, "Kian, you just got back. Let me introduce you to some real friends."

I nodded, not thinking much of it. I really did need to build a social life in the city.

I never imagined he would exploit my trust. He used my cards for his social climbing and started live-streaming to attract fans, branding himself as a billionaire heir.

When I confronted him about it, he had an excuse ready. "Kian, I'm doing this for you! I'm out there building a network so your business can thrive."

"I use your money to get things done for you. I've never spent a dime on myself. I'm so grateful for everything, I'd never betray you."

When I asked why he hid my true identity, he looked concerned. "I'm thinking about your safety. What if people find out how rich you are and try to kidnap you again?"

I thought about my father's past kidnapping and felt a chill. I thought he made sense.

But when my company finally started to take off, Lance went on his live stream and framed me for using illegal substances.

When my dad released a statement to clear me, Lance twisted it. He convinced the public it was just a rich family using their influence to wash away a crime.

He also used his position to steal trade secrets and sell them to our rivals. That was the final blow.

My family's company went bankrupt, and my father ended up ending his life by jumping from a rooftop.

Lance then set me up to become addicted to those very substances he accused me of using. I became a walking ghost, a puppet for him to play with.

In the end, once he squeezed the last of the inheritance passwords out of me, he let his debt collectors finish me off in a dark alley.

I walked into my house and turned on my phone. It was instantly bombarded with a flurry of messages from Lance.

Kian, where the hell are you? Why is your card declined?

Kian Sterling, are you doing this on purpose? Why did you freeze the cards and turn off your phone!

I'm giving you twenty minutes to get back here. I do so much for you, and this is how you play me?

The messages were full of threats. I could almost see his face twisting with rage.

Fine, you want to be a prick? Just you wait.

His last message was cold and short. It felt like the eerie silence before a hurricane hits.

My eyes landed on a message from ten minutes ago.

Kian, Lance has been so good to you. What you did today was way out of line. Come back and apologize, and maybe I can talk him into forgiving you.

The sender was Jessa Rossi. Her name on the screen made my skin crawl.

I remembered when Jessa first started at the company. She used to send me late-night texts.

"Mr. Sterling, I'm new and there's so much I don't understand. Are you free tonight? I'd love some private tutoring."

She was being provocative, but I chose to ignore it. She didn't care. She was even more aggressive the next day, her intentions obvious.

However, as the rumors about Lance grew, her attitude flipped. People started saying Lance was the real owner's son, just working as a secretary to learn the ropes.

"When Lance was hired, the CEO handled it personally. No interview!" the HR manager had whispered during a gossip session.

"But why would the owner's son be a secretary? He should be the CEO," a colleague had asked.

"He's staying low-profile. The CEO is basically Lance's puppet. Half the projects go straight to Lance anyway," someone else explained.

"And he rides in a stretch limo with the CEO every day. A regular employee doesn't get that kind of treatment."

After hearing those rumors, Jessa changed overnight. She stopped bringing me coffee and started looking at me with pure contempt.

One day, I caught her and Lance making out in the stairwell. That's when I realized her target had shifted.

From then on, Jessa became arrogant at the office. She treated me like I was dirt beneath her feet.

I had laughed it off back then, thinking it was just a petty office drama. Now, I simply swiped my finger and deleted all those annoying messages.

I opened the streaming app and searched for Lance's ID. His face popped up. He was still live?

I let out a soft laugh. This guy's skin was thicker than a brick wall. I wanted to see how he handled a six-figure bill without my money.

The comment section was a total mess. Every message was like fuel for the fire.

Why did the stream cut out earlier?

Don't act like a big shot if you're broke. You said drinks were on you, but your card got declined.

Shut up, hater! Lance explained it. He let a 'friend' use his card, and the guy froze it out of spite. It wasn't Lance's fault.

What friend? You mean that little assistant who's always following him? I didn't know he was such a snake. Lance is going to fire him for sure.

The comments got sharper. I could almost hear the whispers through the screen.

Little assistant? I wanted to laugh. But then Lance and the club owner appeared on screen. I stopped typing and watched.

Lance flashed a charming smile at the camera, his voice smooth. "Sorry for the little hiccup, guys. I've sorted it out. My car is worth about a hundred grand. I'm leaving it here as collateral."

He turned to the crowd around him. "I've talked to the owner. The night is still on me. Keep partying!"

He sounded so confident, like he was still the king of the castle. The crowd cheered, and Jessa leaned into him, looking smug.

I watched the screen and arched an eyebrow. So, he still had a card to play.

When I left the club, I had taken a cab because I didn't want to deal with the driver. My driver, Old Joe, was still waiting for us near the bar.

The car was still there. No wonder Lance felt so bold. I immediately called Old Joe and told him to bring the car back home.

Old Joe sounded hesitant. "But young master, Lance said he needed the car... and..."

I knew exactly what was happening. Lance must have made a deal with him. My voice turned cold and sharp.

"Joe, you need to remember who signs your paychecks."

There was a long silence on the other end. Finally, Joe spoke, sounding a bit reluctant. "Understood."

I hung up and went back to the stream. Two minutes later, the club owner walked over with a dark face.

"Lockwood, this isn't cool. You promised to leave the car here, and now your guy is driving it away? What kind of game are you playing?"

Lance and the crowd froze. The viewers in the chat went wild. I leaned back with a smirk. The real show was just beginning.

The stream abruptly ended. A second later, I got a text. You're dead meat.

I stared at the screen. You think this is mean? You haven't seen anything yet.

In my last life, my father knelt on a rooftop, begging Lance to let me live. Lance didn't show an ounce of mercy.

Instead, he showed my father the video of me shaking from withdrawal, mocking me for being a waste of space.

My father jumped in despair. And I was held down by his thugs, forced to watch the whole thing.

Lance didn't come back to the mansion that night. The next morning, I went to the office as usual.

The employees were looking at me like I was a freak. I could hear them whispering behind my back.

"He thinks he's a big deal just because he's the CEO. He's just Lance's dog, and now he's biting the hand that feeds him."

"Lance was totally humiliated last night. He's going to crush that guy today. I can't wait."

"I can't believe Lance actually had to borrow money from us. I pitched in five grand. That's an investment in my future right there."

I pieced together what happened. Lance had stayed to pay the bill to save face.

But his personal accounts weren't enough, so he had to beg the coworkers who were there to chip in.

He didn't even have cab fare, so Jessa had stayed behind to 'take care' of him. I sat down at my desk, and a moment later, the door slammed open.

Lance stormed in, his face red with fury. "What the hell was that? You just walked out? You made me look like a loser!"

"I can leave whenever I want," I said, not even looking up from my laptop.

"You think you're tough now? Everything you have is because of me! Without me, you're nothing!" His voice was reaching a screech.

"You're the one who thinks he's tough, 'Mr. Lockwood.' Do you actually believe your own lies now?" I looked at him with pure sarcasm.

He lost it. He slammed his hands onto my desk so hard that people in the hallway stopped to look.

"I built this company! You're just an ungrateful piece of work!"

Lance saw the crowd at the door and his expression shifted instantly. He went from a raging bull to a victim in a heartbeat.

"I know you're jealous, but I've always treated you like a brother. This hurts, Kian. If you're unhappy, just tell me. We can fix this."

I looked at his performance with pure boredom. "Get out before I lose my temper."

The employees outside started buzzing. Suddenly, Jessa burst in, her finger inches from my nose.

"You're pathetic! Lance is being so humble, and you're still acting like an animal! Have you no shame?"

I looked up at her. "And who the hell are you to talk to me like that?"

She smirked. "I'm Lance's girlfriend. That makes me your boss's lady. You should be showing me some respect!"

Lance looked a bit panicked. "Jessa, stop. Kian is my friend. Don't say that."

Jessa stood her ground. "Lance, stop letting him use you. He's just a social climber who'd sell his soul for a buck!"

I actually laughed. I looked at her and asked, "So, what do you want me to do?"

She gave me a cold look. "Apologize to Lance right now. Then pack your trash and get out of this company. I never want to see your face again."

I ignored her and shouted toward the door. "Where's the HR manager? Get in here. Process Jessa Rossi's termination immediately."