Framed For Espionage By My Cheating Fiancé Chapter 1

The year-end review was a formality for me. My performance was exemplary, and the promotion to Department Director was sealed.

Then, my boyfriend reported me on the spot.

He accused me of misappropriating company funds for personal shopping during an overseas business trip. His proof? A video he’d originally filmed for my professional vlog. The footage clearly showed me at a high-end vintage market in Barcelona, spending exactly one hundred thousand dollars on a handful of brittle, aged letters.

“Samantha, I’m sorry,” he said, his voice ringing with fake righteousness. “Even though you’re my girlfriend, I can’t in good conscience cover this up. You don't deserve the Director position. Madison is far more qualified.”

Madison Stone, my biggest internal rival, turned to me, her face contorted in manufactured outrage. “Samantha Rory, you spent that kind of money on old paper? This is money laundering!”

Our senior leadership immediately convened an investigative committee. They looked at me with varying degrees of disappointment and suspicion.

I remained still, outwardly calm, though rage was already churning in my stomach. They called them "old paper." They had no idea. Those documents were classified WWII-era letters detailing unprosecuted war crimes—a goldmine for an international historical justice foundation. The commendation from the Department of National Security for securing them was already in the pipeline.

* * *

Mr. Wallace, the Executive Vice President, watched the video and frowned. “Samantha, this is extremely serious. You need to explain yourself.”

I stared at Blake Harrington, utterly blindsided. I still couldn’t believe he would throw me under a bus—and all for Madison.

Just last night, he’d held me close, trying to soothe me out of my career drive.

“Samantha, honey, why don’t you drop the competition with Madison? The Director role is too much stress. It’s a grind.”

“Besides,” he’d continued, condescendingly, “when we get married, you’ll want to prioritize family and kids. Just take a low-stress role. You know I can take care of us.”

I’d been repulsed. “The future is the future, Blake. I’ve worked too hard to give up now. Don't bring that up again.”

He’d gone quiet, his face tight. Later, in the dead of the night, I’d woken up and found his side of the bed empty. I’d assumed he was just dealing with a last-minute work emergency in his study and had gone back to sleep.

Now, I knew. He had been preparing my public execution.

I took a deep breath, smothering the urge to lunge across the table at him, and addressed Wallace. “Sir, that’s not the full story. I encountered an urgent, time-sensitive situation abroad. I didn't have immediate access to my personal accounts, so I had to temporarily use company funds. I reimbursed the full amount the moment I returned.”

I pressed the point. “Before using it, I notified Gary Powell in Accounting. It was a verbal pre-approval, but you can confirm the immediate repayment with him.”

Wallace, who usually valued my work ethic, didn't want to see me fall on a fundamental ethics violation. He immediately instructed his secretary. “Ms. Turner, please verify the financials right now. Then bring Gary Powell in here.”

“Right away, sir.”

Moments later, Ms. Turner returned with Gary, the head of Accounting. Gary was a naturally shifty man, good at sniffing out the safest path. He scanned the room, smiled nervously, and spoke.

“I heard the summary from Ms. Turner,” he chirped. “Ms. Rory’s account is perfectly balanced. She repaid the full amount immediately upon her return. My ledger is crystal clear.”

Madison, however, wasn’t done. Without even glancing at the ledger, she cornered him. “Gary, we all trust your accounting. But Samantha said she got your verbal pre-approval before spending the $100,000. Do you recall that conversation?”

She didn't give him a chance to answer. “One hundred thousand dollars—is that an amount you can casually approve with just a sentence?”

Gary’s eyes darted away. He slapped his forehead dramatically. “Oh, man, I truly can’t recall! That day, I was running a high fever, a real flu. I vaguely remember taking a call from Samantha, but honestly, I completely forgot what we discussed.” He turned to me, his tone apologetic but firm. “Samantha, do you have a recording, or any proof to back that up?”

I understood. Gary was a master of self-preservation. He would never risk his job to cover my rear. He was giving me an out, but I hadn’t recorded the rushed call.

My face went pale. “I… I don’t have proof.”

“But the item I bought was critically important. It was an emergency situation, and I fixed the financial side immediately. No damage was done to the company’s bottom line!”

Blake and Madison exchanged a look of smug victory. Blake leaned forward, his voice dripping with moral superiority. “You're still trying to wriggle out of it? How important can a few scraps of old paper be? And just because you paid it back doesn’t erase the violation, Samantha. Rules are rules. If everyone bypassed protocol like this, the entire firm would fall into chaos.”

He delivered the final blow. “I recommend severe disciplinary action against Samantha as a warning to others. And the Director position must go to Madison.”