The Three-Million-Dollar Betrayal

This was my third month and two days of late nights; the final version of the Skyward Splendor landmark design was finally nailed down.

My fingertips tingled slightly from holding the mouse so long while saving the file.

My phone rang it was Jasmine Thomas, her voice buzzing with excitement. Charles, we landed the bid! A 400 million contract! The celebration banquet's tonight; you have to come!

I smiled and agreed, then after hanging up, I pulled the note out of the drawer.

On it was what Jasmine wrote last month: "Once we land the project, the three million is yours. I give you my word."

That little note held my greatest hope for the last three months.

The celebration banquet that evening was held on the top floor of the Neptune Grand Hotel, the crystal chandeliers shining brilliantly.

Jasmine wore a red evening gown, standing on stage with a microphone, the large screen behind her cycling through images of the Skyward Splendor design.

"Tonight, I want to especially thank one person."

Jasmine's gaze swept across the room and finally settled on Liam in the corner.

Liam had only been with the company for half a month and couldn't even understand the basic architectural structural drawings. Last week, he even marked the position of the load-bearing wall incorrectly.

My heart sankan ominous feeling washed over me.

"Thank you, Liam Hill!" Jasmine held up the bonus check. "He's the one who optimized the core design in the final phase and made the plan flawless. This three-million bonus goes to him!"

The whole room burst into applause. Liam smiled as he stepped on stage, took the check, and threw me a look loaded with silent challenge.

I froze in my seat, almost letting the wine glass slip from my hand.

The three-million-dollar bonusthe result of me staying up late for three monthswas just casually handed over to someone else by her.

My heart felt like it was being crushed by a fist, aching so much I could barely breathe.

Jasmine stepped down from the stage and came to my side, lowering her voice. "Charles, Liam is my childhood friend. His family has helped me a lot. Don't read too much into it."

I looked at her, my voice trembling. "Jasmine, are you seriously saying you can just give away three months of my hard work like that?"

She avoided my gaze. "Today's the celebration banquet. Don't kill the mood."

I watched her turn and walk toward Liam's back, and for the first time, the woman I'd loved for three years felt completely unfamiliar.

The next morning, I took the bid-winning notice and the original design drawing to Jasmine's company.

Her office door wasn't closed. I pushed it open and saw Liam sitting opposite her, holding my design drawing and pointing at something.

"Jasmine, we need to talk." I placed the design drawing on the desk, my voice cold.

Liam politely stood up. "You two talk; I'll step out."

After he left, Jasmine leaned back in her chair. "Charles, about yesterdayI know you're upset, but..."

I cut her off, pointing at the revision marks on the design drawing. "Liam changed the core load-bearing structure. He doesn't even understand the basic principles, and you let him optimize the design?"

"He's just inexperienced; he'll learn over time." Jasmine frowned. "Charles Hoff, are you jealous of him?"

"Jealous?" I laughed. "Jealous of someone who can't even understand the blueprints?"

"Jasmine, I stayed up late for three months, revising the plans from the first draft all the way to the eighteenth version. And with just one sentence, you give all the credit to him? And now you say I'm jealous?"

Her face darkened. "Charles, don't go too far. The company is mine. Who I give the bonus to, who I put in charge of the projectthat's entirely my call."

"Fine, you're ruthless." I took a deep breath. "I can give up the three-million bonus, but Liam's altered design is flawed. That building will collapse. You have to fix it."

"That's alarmist!" Jasmine stood up and came over to me. "Charles, if you keep spouting nonsense, don't expect me to be polite."

"Nonsense?" I looked her in the eye. "Look at the design drawing yourself. He shrank the cross-section of the load-bearing columns on the north side by a third. The seismic rating doesn't meet standards at all. If strong winds or an earthquake hit, the whole building would collapse!"

She waved her hand impatiently. "Enough! Charles, you're not fit to stay in the company. This is your termination notice. Sign it."

A printed termination notice lay before me, already signed with Jasmine's name.

I stared at that paper, every last bit of hope inside me fading away.

"Jasmine, you'll regret this." I picked up the pen and signed my name.

I put down the pen, turned, and walked away without giving her another glance.

After leaving Jasmine's company, I found out I'd been blacklisted in the industry as soon as I started job hunting.

I interviewed at several design institutes, but the moment they heard my name, they made excuses to reject me.

Later, I found out it was Jasmine who sabotaged me, saying I "have misconducted and leaked company secrets."

I had no choice but to take on odd jobsdrawing renovation plans for neighborhoods and designing storefronts for small shops. The money barely covered my rent and food.

Every night, I'd open my computer and check the construction news on Skyward Splendor, feeling both anxious and helpless.

One afternoon, three months later, I was sketching a design for a convenience store when the TV suddenly cut in with breaking news.

"The city's landmark project 'Skyward Splendor' completely collapsed during construction. Three workers have been injured, and the exact cause is currently under investigation..."

On the TV screen, the former construction site had turned into a wasteland, with the sounds of fire trucks and ambulances coming and going.

My heart sank instantly, and the pen in my hand dropped onto the desk.

It really happened.

At that moment, my phone started ringing nonstop, and the screen showed the name 'Jasmine.'

I looked at the name, hesitated for a few seconds, but still answered.

"Charles Hoff! You jinx! Was this your doing?"

Jasmine's hysterical curses blared from the phone, "It's all your fault! You cursed my project! I hope you rot!"

I held the phone away, waiting for her to finish yelling, then spoke calmly, "Jasmine, I warned you long ago about the design flaws. You just refused to listen."

"Warn? That was a curse!" she shouted. "Now the project's collapsed. What am I supposed to do? The company's going bankrupt! You have to help me!"

"I can't help you." My voice was cold. "You chose this path yourself. You have to bear the consequences yourself."

After I finished speaking, I hung up and blocked her number.

Less than ten minutes after hanging up with Jasmine, the doorbell rang.

I opened the door to find two police officers standing there, showing their badges.

"Are you Mr. Charles Hoff?" One of the officers asked.

"Yes, that's me." I nodded.

"We're from the City Police Office. We'd like to ask you about the 'Skyward Splendor' project." The other officer said.

"Please come in." I stepped aside to let them in and poured them each a glass of water.

The living room was small, with only a sofa and a coffee table, which held my unfinished design drawings.

"Mr. Hoff, you used to work at Jasmine's company, responsible for the design of 'Skyward Splendor,' right?" After the police sat down, they took out a notebook and began taking notes.

"Yes, I was the lead designer on the project. Jasmine fired me three months ago." I replied.

"Why were you fired?" The police asked.

"Because I opposed her giving the project's credit to Liam, and I also pointed out that the design changes Liam made had safety hazards." I pulled the termination notice from the drawer. "This is the termination notice she gave me, complete with date and signature."

The police officer took the notice, looked it over, and asked, "What exactly is the safety hazard you're referring to?"

I opened my computer and pulled up the original design drawing. "See, this is my initial design. The load-bearing column on the north side measures 1.2 meters by 1.2 meters, with a seismic rating of level 8."

"Liam changed it to 0.8 meters by 0.8 meters, dropping the seismic rating to level 6, which doesn't meet the standards at all. That's the main reason the project collapsed."

Then I pulled out a USB drive. "All my design files are here, timestamped to prove I'm the original designer. And there's this, too."

I pulled a voice recorder from my pocket. "This is the recording of my conversation with Jasmine the day I was fired. It includes my warnings about the design flaws."

The police took the USB drive and the voice recorder, carefully jotting down notes.

"Mr. Hoff, this evidence is crucial. We need to take it back to the station for filing." An officer said, "We may need you to assist with further investigations later."

"No problem." I nodded. "I'll fully cooperate."