Lost and Found

Julian initiated a cold war with me.

Though we continued crossing paths daily at the office, his attitude had devolved into chilling, professional alienation.

Concurrently, he began systematically stripping away the senior personnel I painstakingly promoted, banishing them to subsidiary management while pulling all projects out of Leo’s hands to reassign them to his old loyalists.

That very afternoon, a furious Leo burst directly into my office to vent.

“Has Julian lost his mind, why is he suddenly targeting me!”*

“That old bastard saw me finally produce results and secure a lucrative project, so he brazenly swooped in to rob it blind!”*

“Talk about pathetic, petty jealousy—dragging up ancient history just to settle petty scores!”*

I offered a bitter, twisted smile: “Perhaps he isn’t targeting you at all. Perhaps he’s targeting me.”*

“What’s that supposed to mean? Did you two… hit a rough patch?”*

I gave a hollow laugh: “Against a man like Julian, I’m simply no match.”*

“But his recent moves are way too blatant—first purging my people, then quietly consolidating loyalty. It’s obvious he wants to freeze me out completely.”*

“What are your plans? Just sit here and wait to be slaughtered?”*

“Waiting to be slaughtered —— is never my style.”*

Drawing a heavy sigh, I unlocked my desk drawer, pulled out a thick envelope, hesitated for a single second, and shoved it across the table toward Leo.

Leo cracked it open, his eyes widening in sheer disbelief.

The contents consisted entirely of photographic evidence and concrete paper trails detailing Zhao Ling’s embezzlement of public funds and tax evasion.

“Julian… betrayed you again?”*

“Wait, that familiar-looking vixen… Oh I remember! Isn’t that the nanny named Vivienne?”*

“So the rumors about her and Julian were true?”*

I wearily closed my eyes: “True or false no longer matters; what matters is that it’s useful.”*

“Take this to pressure him, let’s see how he handles it.”*

“Playing it this high-stakes? Voluntarily using this as leverage to buy my ticket into ShengYue, huh CEO lady.”*

Leo hesitated briefly before reaching out to pat my shoulder: “Clara, are you holding up alright?”*

“I’m fine. A man like Julian was never someone who could be truly tamed from day one.”*

“Since divorce is inevitable, I refuse to let myself walk away empty-handed after pouring years of blood, sweat, and tears into this empire.”*

Handing the dossier over to Leo left my mind in absolute chaos.

With Vance firmly locked under Julian’s iron grip, remaining at headquarters would only breed further suffocation, so I decided to escape to the equestrian club.

Only galloping at breakneck speed with the wind roaring past my ears could vent the oppressive tightness constricting my chest.

Countless fragmented memories flooded my consciousness.

My freezing hands gripped firmly by Julian’s warm palms;

Under dim ambient lighting, his patient coaching on how to navigate the corporate battlefield;

The triumphant popping of champagne bottles the moment we clinched our first major victory;

Stealing a kiss from him only to be pinned down in a playful counter-attack;

When my family disowned and isolated me, Julian driving through the dead of night to rescue me home;

The day my wretched father was thrown behind bars, Julian standing solidly by my side holding my hand;

And that spontaneous, intensely romantic impromptu proposal…

Abruptly, the reel of memories violently lurched to the catastrophic car crash.

Consciousness fading amidst the impact, yet distinctly recalling a hand gripping mine with desperate tenacity.

A frantic voice ringing in my ears: “Clara, wake up, hold on; Clara, you must survive.”*

A terrifying wave of vertigo seized me, sending my thoughts spinning out of control.

At that exact moment ——

A split second of distraction, and I was violently thrown off the horse’s back, crashing heavily onto the ground.

Fortunately, my heavy equestrian protective gear absorbed the worst of it, and emergency personnel rushed over immediately; aside from some scrapes and bruises, there were no major fractures.

Sitting inside the lounge tending to my bruised arm, I received a text message from Leo.

【The materials have been delivered to him. Tomorrow I officially report to duty at ShengYue.】

A single tear slipped down to land against the phone screen, making me realize that physical scratches somehow hurt far deeper than chronic internal ailments.

Word of my falling off the horse ultimately trickled back to Julian’s ears.

After all, that club was essentially his private domain, and my riding skills were taught entirely by him.

The man who had maintained a stony cold war for days finally took the initiative to call me.

“How bad are your injuries?”*

“I’m fine, just some minor scrapes.”*

“Clara, even at a time like this, you still refuse to tell me the truth?”*

“And what about you? How many secrets are you hiding from me?”*

Dead silence stretched across the line for several seconds.

“Your lingering trauma from the car accident still impacts your health. Scrapes aren’t a small matter—tomorrow afternoon I’m taking you to the hospital for a comprehensive checkup.”*

“No need.”*

“Be a good girl. 3:00 PM tomorrow, I’ve already booked the appointment.”*

“Whatever…”*

Silence hung heavy once more.

“Where are you? I’ll come pick you up.”*

“I’m at the club, getting ready to head home and rest. You should rest early too.”*

With that, I hung up abruptly.

In truth, I was still sitting dazed inside the club’s VIP lounge.

I simply wasn’t mentally prepared to face him yet, hoping to buy myself a little more breathing room.

Unfortunately, my excuse was far too clumsy.

And I remained blissfully unaware that the moment Julian dialed my number, he was standing directly inside my empty, echoing Sand Garden apartment.

Sitting alone on the sofa, staring at the deserted, lifeless rooms, he lowered his head in utter exhaustion.

Nobody knew what a proud man like Julian was contemplating at that exact moment.

The following afternoon, I arrived at the hospital per schedule and ran straight into Julian.

To my complete astonishment, standing right beside him was Vivienne.

Vivienne flashed her trademark bright, lively smile upon spotting me: “CEO Clara, what a coincidence!”*

“I caught a cold a few days ago, and Mr. Julian insisted I come along for a routine health check.”*

My heart plunged straight into a freezing glacial lake.

So this was the real reason Vivienne had vanished from our home.

The young girl chirped proudly: “Mr. Julian said since you needed a checkup, he figured he’d have me checked out together. You don’t mind, do you?”*

I offered a cold, mocking smirk: “As long as your husband doesn’t mind, why would I.”*

Vivienne tilted her head, playing dumb with faux innocence.

She probably genuinely believed her infantile act looked irresistibly cute.

Stepping into the examination room, the physician routinely inquired about my equestrian accident; I answered professionally—after all, bodily health remained paramount.

As the consultation wrapped up, Julian suddenly instructed: “Dr. Kiefer, please arrange a comprehensive full-body health screening package for Clara as well.”*

“That’s unnecessary.”*

“How is it unnecessary? We aren’t getting any younger; it’s high time we started preparing to have children.”*

Before I could issue a refusal, he had already smoothly manipulated the schedule and locked in all arrangements.

When I emerged from the ultrasound suite, Julian was sitting on the waiting room bench chatting cheerfully with Vivienne.

His expression was draped in gentleness, while her cheeks flushed a bright, bashful pink.

As for me, a suffocating wave of nausea churned violently in my throat.

Once diagnostics concluded, Julian instructed the driver to take me home first, while he personally drove Vivienne away.

Sitting in the back seat, I watched Vivienne sitting brazenly in the front passenger seat, flashing me a triumphant victory smile through the rearview mirror.

A piercing, agonizing pain stabbed through my heart.

Perhaps our marriage had truly reached the point of beyond saving.