On My First Day as CEO, My Husband’s Secretary Called Me an Intern. By Sunset, I Learned the Company—and My Marriage—Had Been Built on a Lie.

elevator.”

I pressed the button.

When the doors opened, I stepped inside.

Jang followed.

“You’re finished,” she said. “I’ll have your internship canceled before lunch.”

I watched her reflection in the mirrored wall.

“Since when does an intern’s future depend on whether she obeys the president’s secretary?”

“Everyone under President Shiao passes my inspection.”

That told me everything

about the culture my husband had allowed to develop.

On the executive floor, Jang loudly repeated what had happened. Within minutes, strangers warned me that offending her was equivalent to offending President Shiao.

“He trusts her more than anyone.”

“He spoils her.”

“She’s his right hand.”

One woman whispered, “Apologize before he finishes his meeting. He can make sure you never work in this industry again.”

Then I noticed the watch.

White ceramic. Diamond markers. A tiny silver crescent above the six.

Only ten existed worldwide.

A month earlier, Ihis mother’s birthday.