When my girlfriend went through airport security, the metal detector blared. Ashley’s ears turned bright red. “I just got my nipples pierced last week,” she whispered, mortified. “They told me it wouldn’t set off the alarm.” I froze for a second, then lifted her suitcase off the conveyor belt. “When did you get nipple piercings? You didn’t even mention it to me.” She avoided my eyes. “I wanted it to be a surprise. And, you know, for a better… experience.” “Who told you that?” I pressed, staring at her. Her gaze flickered. “Just… stuff I read online,” she said with a forced smile. … Ashley showed the TSA agent her piercing studio receipt. My heart sank. Ashley never trusted anything she read online. And she would never, ever do something like that by herself. While she was undergoing a more thorough check, I pulled up our company’s recent attendance records on my phone. There was only one person whose vacation days perfectly aligned with Ashley’s: a new streamer, still on probation, named Leo Chen. “Okay, all clear. We can go on our vacation now!” Ashley said cheerfully when she returned. I closed the attendance file and met her gaze. “You did it yourself?” “Mhmm,” she mumbled, fussing with her suitcase. “It would be way too embarrassing to have a stranger do that.” I was silent for a moment. All desire to go on vacation had evaporated. “Something just came up at work. I have to go back.” She looked surprised, but not disappointed. There wasn’t a hint of frustration at having our long-awaited trip canceled. “Jayce, I’ve been looking forward to this for so long. You’re bailing on me again? Fine. I know you’re a workaholic. It’s not easy being your girlfriend.” Seeing the relief in her eyes, I sighed. On the drive back, she was quiet, glued to her phone, a small smile playing on her lips as she texted. “Did you really want to go on this trip with me?” I asked. It took her a few seconds to register my question. “Hm? What did you say?” I shook my head and closed my eyes. The moment I got back to the office, I had my assistant send Leo to my office. He was wearing a crisp white shirt, his hair neatly styled. He looked clean-cut and professional, not at all like the male model he used to be. “Mr. Crawford, aren’t you on vacation? Is there something you needed?” “How did you know I was on vacation?” Leo stammered. “I… I heard it from your assistant.” I gave him a cold look. “You took a week off this month? You’re still a probationary streamer. Shouldn’t you be focused on training?” A flash of panic crossed his eyes, but he quickly composed himself. “I’m sorry, sir. My sister was sick. It’s just the two of us, so I had to be there for her.” His sister’s illness just happened to coincide perfectly with Ashley’s time off? The coincidence was a little too convenient. My eyes scanned him, landing on the sports watch on his wrist. The khaki-colored band was unremarkable, but I remembered buying the exact same Miu Miu band years ago, back when I was still living off my family’s money. Before I’d started my own company and learned the value of a dollar. I wouldn’t spend two hundred bucks on a watch band now. “Nice watch band,” I said casually. “Must have been expensive. A gift from your girlfriend?” He flinched, a barely perceptible tremor running through his shoulders. He quickly unclasped the watch and hid it behind his back, forcing a smile. So, it was a gift from Ashley. “You can go now,” I said. The moment he was gone, I called my childhood friend, Mark. He’d just finalized a long, messy divorce a few months ago. He picked up on the second ring. “Jayce! What tropical paradise are you calling me from? To what do I owe the honor?” I looked out my office window at the city skyline. “I need a favor.” “I need you to run a check on Ashley for the past six months. Financials, travel records, hotel stays, credit card statements… everything. Oh, and a guy named Leo Chen. Do him, too.” Mark’s interest was piqued. “You came to the right guy. I know the drill. Told you you can’t trust any of them.” I sighed and hung up. I had just put my phone down when Ashley burst into my office. “I was getting coffee for everyone, so I brought you one!” She held it out to me with a saccharine smile. She must have already heard that I’d spoken to Leo. “I hear you were checking attendance records,” she said. I met her eyes. “What, are you worried about him?” “Of course not…” She cleared her throat. “I just think you could be a little more compassionate. The kid’s had a tough life…” I cut her off. “I’m a businessman, not a philanthropist. Take the coffee with you. And…” “Next time you enter the CEO’s office, knock.” Ashley stood there, speechless, before turning and walking out. A moment later, a message from my assistant popped up. [Mr. Crawford, Leo Chen just submitted his resignation.] Chapter 2 Almost simultaneously, a notification from Mark appeared. [Is this the guy you're looking for?] I clicked the link. It was Leo’s private social media account. The first picture of Ashley was from six months ago. She was in a hospital emergency room, a bandage wrapped around her head, only half of her face visible. [I was lost in the darkness, and then you came and lit up my world. My sunshine.] So that’s why Ashley, our company's top streamer, had to pull out of a major brand launch six months ago. She’d claimed she got into a fight, but it was because of him. My heart twisted. I kept scrolling. Five months ago: a picture of a spicy stir-fry, two porcelain bowls, in what looked like a messy basement apartment. Three months ago: he’d moved into a bright, spacious new place. A photo of a woman’s pale legs, adorned with a luxury watch, draped over his gray sweatpants. Two weeks ago: a selfie of him with red, swollen eyes. [I don’t want you to go on vacation with him. I don’t want him to touch you. So sad.] One week ago: a picture of them cuddled up in a room. [To prove her love for me, my sunshine actually let me pierce her nipples. I’m the luckiest guy in the world.] The phone slipped from my hand. All the strength drained out of me. So Ashley, the woman I’d built from an unknown nobody into a streamer with over a million followers, had been cheating on me all along. She’d even brought her lover into my company, carrying on an affair right under my nose. The phone rang for a full fifteen seconds before I could compose myself enough to answer. “Jayce, who is this Leo Chen guy?” Mark asked. “A new streamer Ashley recruited. Used to be a male model, apparently.” “Well, that’s weird. Because he’s the registered owner of an MCN company called Sunshine Media. Three million in registered capital.” Sunshine? I remembered the post about his “sunshine.” Had Ashley set up an entire company for him? No wonder he quit the second I asked about his attendance. He already had his exit strategy planned. “Jayce, get this. This new MCN just landed a major client. The signing ceremony is tomorrow at the Cloudfall Hotel. And guess who the client is?” Mark was enjoying this. “A brand-new company landing a major client right out of the gate?” The more I thought about it, the more a cold dread crept up my spine. A male model couldn’t pull that off. If Ashley was behind this, it was very likely she had poached one of my own clients. “Yep. A major client. One of the biggest in the city.” We only had a handful of clients at that level. “Alright, I won’t keep you in suspense. It’s the Sterling Group.” “Sterling? You mean my father’s company?” My voice shot up an octave. “The one and only.” My relationship with my father, Jason Crawford, had been strained for years. When I left the family business to start my own media company, he hadn’t given me a dime. No one in the industry knew about my connection to Sterling. In the last couple of years, as my company started to gain traction, my father had made a few overtures to mend our relationship, even offering to partner with me on a few projects. I’d turned him down every time. Ashley probably had no idea why she had suddenly been blessed with the Sterling Group’s favor. “Send me the address of the signing ceremony,” I said. “Looks like I’ll have to crash the party.” Chapter 3 The conference hall at the Cloudfall Hotel was packed with media and industry insiders. Everyone was buzzing, trying to figure out who the mysterious owner of Sunshine Media was. “I hear he’s young, handsome, and brilliant. Just got back from studying abroad.” “Must be from a powerful family. You don’t just land a deal with Sterling right out of the gate.” “Maybe he’s related to the Crawfords?” I let out a small, humorless laugh. I’d used the same playbook myself years ago to build Ashley’s brand as a sophisticated, artistic college student, even hiring tutors to teach her English and painting. But could Leo really live up to the persona Ashley had created for him? When he finally took the stage, all eyes were on him. He was wearing a well-tailored suit and, at first glance, looked the part of a successful executive. But the moment he opened his mouth, the illusion shattered. “Thank you all for coming to today’s signing ceremony…” The microphone let out a piercing screech of feedback. He panicked, fumbling his lines. He stumbled through the first few sentences, his eyes darting to Ashley in the front row. She gave him an encouraging thumbs-up, and he managed a small smile, slowly finding his rhythm. I remembered when Ashley was that nervous before her first live stream. I would spend hours with her, rehearsing her script, preparing her for every possible scenario. Later, when she started to get famous, she’d boasted, “Jayce, just you wait. One day, I’m going to buy you the most expensive car on the lot.” I had waited. But what I got was betrayal. After a long introduction, Ashley joined him on stage. “Hello, everyone. I’m Ashley Vance, Director of Talent Operations at Crawford Media. Leo is the hardest-working man I’ve ever met. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he still chooses to compete with us regular folks. I have nothing but respect for him.” The crowd laughed, her words cementing Leo’s image as the privileged heir. Ashley paused, her gaze softening as she looked at him. “And he’s also the smartest man I know. I’m confident that Sterling has made the wisest choice, and I look forward to seeing the incredible opportunities this partnership will bring him.” Smart, handsome, hardworking. She had used the same words to describe me when she first confessed her feelings. But yesterday, in my office, she had called me a cold, unfeeling man. People around me started whispering. “What’s the relationship between Crawford Media and Sunshine? Is it a subsidiary?” “Could be. Why else would they send their top star to endorse him?” “With Sterling’s backing and a top streamer’s support, this guy’s set.” A few representatives from Sterling’s marketing department were in attendance. A serious-looking, middle-aged man in a sharp suit walked onto the stage. He sat down at the signing table and quickly flipped through the contract. Just as he was about to put pen to paper, I stood up. “If you’ll just wait a moment.” Every head in the room turned to me. The Sterling representative looked up, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, a look of surprise on his face. “Mr. Crawford?” he asked politely. “Is there a problem?” Ashley whipped her head around. When she saw me, the color drained from her face.
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