You sales girls think you can enter luxury and start forming pride? He hissed.
You will do what I say.
Daisy stepped back.
Please, she said firmly.
Don’t talk to me like that.
Lucas grabbed her wrist.
Daisy stiffened and before Daisy could even react.
Another voice cut through the moment like a blade.
Take your hand off her.
Everyone turned.
One of Ethan’s sisters, Zara, stood there.
She looked calm, but her calm was dangerous.
Lucas released Daisy slowly, forcing a smile.
“Ah, madam,” he said.
“We are just talking.
” Zara nodded once.
“Good.
Since you like talking so much, let’s talk with drinks.
” Lucas blinked.
“What?” Zara turned to the waiter like she owned the whole place.
“Bring 10 bottles,” she said.
“The strongest one.
” Lucas laughed nervously.
Madam, that’s too much.
Zara smiled faintly.
Then don’t disrespect salespeople.
If you drink small, talk small.
Today, you will drink big.
Lucas tried to stand up.
Zara’s voice dropped colder.
My brother’s company is your biggest client, she said.
If you refuse to drink, your orders will be cancelled.
Everything this year, maybe next year, too.
Lucas froze.
His face changed.
He looked around, realizing he was trapped.
Zara pushed a bottle toward him.
“Drink,” she said.
Lucas drank.
“One bottle, then another, then another.
” His eyes became watery.
His shoulders slumped.
By the time he begged, his pride was gone.
“Please,” he whispered horarssely.
“I’m sorry.
I won’t do it again.
” Zara leaned closer.
“You will never force a woman again,” she said softly.
Not in business, not in life.
Lucas nodded quickly, broken.
Zara stood up and turned to Daisy.
“Go home,” she said.
“And don’t ever think you are small.
” Daisy’s lips trembled.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Zara nodded once, then walked away like nothing happened.
The sales competition week ended like a storm.
On the final day, the manager gathered everyone.
Anita stood with a confident smile, already tasting victory.
Daisy stood quietly, holding herself like someone prepared for pain.
The manager announced the numbers, and Daisy’s heart dropped.
Her sales had been reduced, not slightly, mysteriously, unfairly.
Daisy’s eyes widened.
“That’s not possible,” she said quietly.
Anita laughed.
“It’s possible.
Maybe you’re not as special as you think.
” Daisy turned to the manager.
My big clients, Daisy began.
The manager didn’t even blink.
Signed contracts count, he said coldly.
That’s the rule.
Daisy’s chest tightened as she realized what had happened.
Her clients were real.
Her work was real.
But the system had been manipulated.
Someone had logged her sales under Anita’s name, and Daisy didn’t need a prophet to tell her who.
Anita leaned closer, smiling.
Your big clients are finished, she whispered.
Mine are coming.
Minutes ticked down.
Daisy was still barely ahead by a thin, painful margin.
Anita kept watching the door, smiling, waiting.
Then in the final seconds, when the manager was already reaching for the keys, closed the shop.
A VIP arrived.
A man stepped in.
tall, calm, powerful, holding a black card that didn’t look like it belonged to the normal world.
The entire store froze because it was Ethan.
Anita’s smile disappeared.
The manager’s hands began to shake.
Ethan walked straight to Daisy.
“Need my help?” he asked quietly.
Daisy’s pride fought her for one second.
Then she remembered her baby.
She remembered survival.
She looked at him and nodded.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“I need it.
” Ethan’s eyes softened slightly.
Then he turned to the staff.
“Package items worth 20 million,” he said, voice steady.
Gasps burst out like explosions.
Someone whispered, “20 million.
” The staff moved like robots.
They calculated quickly.
They packed.
They printed receipts.
They whispered about commission because everyone knew what that meant.
Money that could change a life.
A commission so massive it could silence even the loudest enemies.
Anita’s knees nearly gave way.
She stared at the receipt like it was a death sentence.
Her face tightened in rage and fear because she knew something now.
Daisy wasn’t alone anymore.
And the game she started was turning against her.
And this time, Ethan was not watching from a distance.
He was standing right beside Daisy.
The boutique was still buzzing from Ethan’s 20 million narrow purchase.
The receipt had become a small holy book.
The staff kept staring at like if they looked long enough, the numbers would change.
Daisy stood in the middle of the noise, quiet and stiff, like her body did not know whether to feel relieved or afraid.
Anita sat on a chair near the counter, breathing like someone who had just lost a battle she never expected to lose.
Ethan didn’t smile.
He didn’t celebrate.
He simply looked around the store slowly, calmly, like a man taking mental notes of every face.
Then he spoke.
By tomorrow morning, he said, “I want the investigation report ready, and I want every staff member present when it is announced.
” The manager’s throat moved as he swallowed.
“Yes, sir.
” Ethan turned to Daisy.
“Go home,” he said quietly.
“And rest.
You’ve had enough.
” Daisy nodded, but her heart was still racing.
Because in a place like that, truth didn’t always win.
Sometimes truth got buried.
The next morning, the staff were lined up like school children.
No jokes, no whispering, no chewing gum.
Even the proud ones were standing straight.
Ethan arrived with his tech team.
Men and women with laptops and hard drives, faces serious like people coming to court.
Ethan didn’t waste time.
Bring the results, he said.
The head of the tech team stepped forward.
Sir, he began.
We retrieved the deleted surveillance footage.
A loud breath moved through the room.
The manager’s face went pale instantly.
The tech team connected a laptop to the screen and the boutique watched.
It was clear, too clear.
They saw Anita, bold, and confident, standing near the office desk after closing hours.
They saw her logging into the system.
They saw her moving Daisy’s clients, shifting sales records, and saving the biggest deals under her own name.
Then another clip played.
Ani Uma, one of the staff who always acted innocent, was seen in a corner using another phone, typing fast and smiling as if she was enjoying a movie.
Another clip showed the two of them together, whispering, planning, and then another shocking clip.
The office CCTV angle showed them deleting footage, not once, more than once, to cover their tracks.
The store went silent.
The kind of silence that makes even breathing sound loud.
Ethan’s voice cut through it.
“Anita ez,” he said.
“Ani ume.
” Both women froze.
Anita’s lips opened, but no sound came out.
Annie’s eyes darted around like she was searching for an exit.
Ethan walked forward slowly.
“You were behind the framed phone messages,” he said.
“You are behind the fake chat screenshots.
You are behind the rumors.
You are behind the lies that Daisy sleeps with men to sell items.
Nobody moved.
Ethan’s eyes were cold.
Two grown women, he said, with working brains, and this is what you used your life to do.
Anita’s voice finally came out weak.
Sir, I can explain.
Ethan raised a hand and stopped her like she was noise.
“No,” he said.
“You can’t.
” His tone hardened.
“You are stupid and malicious.
That sentence landed like a slap.
Some staff flinched.
Anita’s eyes filled with sudden tears of humiliation.
Ethan pointed toward the door.
You are both fired immediately.
The manager tried to speak.
Ethan turned sharply.
And if I ever hear that anyone in this company is trying to destroy another person with lies again, he said, “I will not just fire you.
” He paused, letting his words sink.
I will involve the police.
Annie started shaking.
Sir, please.
Ethan didn’t even look at her.
He looked at the whole staff.
One month ago, I said, “No employee under my group will suffer injustice,” he said.
“I meant it.
” Then he turned to Daisy, standing quietly at the back like a person who still didn’t believe good things could happen to her.
“You’re cleared completely,” Ethan said.
Daisy’s chest rose and fell.
She nodded slowly and for the first time in a long time, she felt something she had almost forgotten.
Safety.
A few days later, Daisy went to the hospital for her prenatal checkup.
Nothing fancy, just clean hospital smell, quiet nurses, and the steady reminder that her baby was real.
The doctor checked her and smiled.
“The baby is fine,” the doctor said.
“But you need to eat better and rest.
No stress.
” Daisy nodded like she was hearing it, but her mind was already racing about Bill’s work and survival.
She walked out of the hospital, holding her file close to her chest.
That was when she saw them, her mother, her siblings, waiting like they had been tracking her.
Daisy stopped.
Her younger brother stood behind her mother like backup singers.
Her younger sister’s eyes were sharp and impatient.
Her mother stepped forward first, acting like she was not the same woman that watched her daughter get beaten in public.
“Daisy,” she said sweetly.
“You didn’t tell us you were coming to hospital.
” Daisy didn’t answer.
Her mother’s eyes dropped to Daisy’s small bag.
So, her mother continued, “How much did they collect?” Daisy blinked.
“That was the first thing.
Money?” Her mother’s voice hardened.
We heard the billionaire is now following you, she said.
So why are you still looking like this? Where is our own share? Daisy’s throat tightened.
Her younger brother spoke.
Big sister, we need money.
Another one added quickly.
School fees.
Her mother waved her hand.
And rent, she said.
And food.
Don’t forget we are the ones you are coming from.
Daisy’s hands began to shake.
Then something in her snapped.
Not loud, not dramatic, just a quiet breaking.
“I have paid,” Daisy said, voice low.
They paused.
Daisy lifted her head.
“I have paid for this family,” she said clearly.
Her mother frowned.
“What are you saying?” Daisy’s voice rose slightly, not shouting, but firm.
“I paid house rent.
I paid for your needs.
I paid for the car you used to move around and show off.
I paid my brother’s fees when I didn’t even have my own peace.
Her eyes were wet, but she didn’t blink the tears away.
And what did you people do? She asked.
You treated me like an ATM machine.
Like I don’t have a life.
Like I was born to suffer for everybody.
Her mother’s face twisted.
So now that a rich man has entered your life, you want to grow wings? She shouted.
Daisy laughed once, dry and painful.
No, she said, I just want to breathe.
One of her brothers tried to touch her hand.
Daisy stepped back.
Her mother’s voice dropped into a dangerous tone.
If you don’t give us money, we will deal with that pregnancy, she said.
We can remove it.
Daisy’s blood ran cold.
Then a voice cut in from behind.
Madam, stop there.
They all turned.
A woman stood nearby, mid-30s, smartly dressed, carrying a handbag and a file folder like someone who lived in offices and courtrooms.
Her eyes were fearless.
She looked at Daisy’s mother the way a teacher looks at a stubborn student.
“A sister is not legally obligated to fund her brothers,” the woman said loudly so people around could hear.
Daisy’s mother scoffed.
“Who are you?” “A concerned citizen,” the woman replied.
“And someone who knows the law.
” She pointed at Daisy’s mother.
Forcing someone to abort against her will is a prison offense.
She said, “You can be arrested for that.
” Daisy’s siblings began to shift uncomfortably.
The mother’s mouth opened, but the woman continued.
“Your daughter is an adult.
She’s not your bank.
People around were already watching now.
” Daisy’s mother’s confidence dropped slightly.
She hissed at Daisy.
You will regret this.
Then they walked away angry and embarrassed.
Daisy stood there shaking.
The brave woman turned to her gently.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
Daisy nodded, eyes shining.
“Thank you,” Daisy whispered.
The woman squeezed her arm lightly and walked away.
Daisy stood there for a moment, thinking of calling Ethan.
Then she stopped herself.
“No, she couldn’t.
Not again.
She didn’t want to be seen as a burden.
” Later that week, Daisy stepped into the boutique and saw someone she didn’t expect.
