Chapter 2

The next morning, there was a sheet of paper taped to my office door.

It read, "Some people should have a little self-respect and stop dragging the Moretti Group's name through the mud with their disgusting tricks."

I tore it down. It would make good scratch paper for the afternoon meeting.

At the morning department meeting, the moment I sat down, the coworkers next to me grabbed their laptops and moved, as if I might be contagious.

Victoria's assistant, Amy Carter, came around to my desk and set down a cup of coffee.

"Ms. Sloane asked me to bring you this.

"She also asked me to pass something on to you."

Amy leaned in and lowered her voice. "If you apologize in public today, she can make this go away."

I looked up at her.

"Apologize? For what?"

"Isabella, those transfers and the footage of you coming and going are already all over the company."

I pushed the coffee back toward her and smiled.

"Sure, I'll apologize. First, give me back my place in the running."

Amy didn't say anything more. She picked up the coffee and left.

At lunch, I went to the company cafeteria, only for the cashier to tell me my card had been declined.

That was when I found out the company's legal department had temporarily frozen the card Vito gave me.

As for my own account, I had seven dollars to my name.

I bought the cheapest sandwich I could find and sat in a quiet corner.

My coworker Sophia Bell saw me and pushed half of her salad over.

"Out of money?"

"No, I'm watching what I eat."

"With your figure? Why would you need to watch what you eat?"

"I'm hoping I'll pass out right in front of Victoria. Then I can frame her."

That left Sophia speechless.

That afternoon, I went straight to the finance department and demanded that they unfreeze my card.

When Victoria saw me come in, she didn't even stand up.

"You have no say in this. You're not the primary cardholder."

She pulled the card out of a folder and set it on the desk.

"Until the chairman confirms the funds are meant for you, the company has a duty to protect his personal assets."

"You have no right to freeze my card whenever you feel like it."

Victoria smirked.

"Isabella, if there's really nothing between you and the chairman, why are you in such a hurry to get this card back?"

I reached for the card on the desk, but Victoria grabbed my hand first.

"Let me remind you, Isabella. The company is investigating this right now. Everything you do is being recorded."

Her grip hurt. I pulled my hand away.

In the scuffle, her nail scratched the back of my hand.

Victoria stood up and brushed nonexistent dust off her clothes.

"Don Moretti won't be out of his meetings for three more days.

"If he personally confirms the money is for you, I'll have the card reactivated, of course."

She gave me a polished smile.

"If he denies it, I'll formally recommend that you be fired."

I left the office and stopped in the hallway to look at the mark she'd left on my hand.

Once everyone decided a woman had used a man to get ahead, there was no point trying to explain.

I scrolled through every contact on my phone.

My parents were in Europe on business, and I didn't want to bother them.

As for Vito, the family council had strict secrecy rules. All I could do was wait for him to come back.

A new thread popped up on the internal forum.

"Isabella's frequent visits to the chairman's private apartment and her spending records exposed!"

A photo was attached below it.

In it, I was wearing Vito's coat and walking out of his private apartment.

A new comment quickly rose to the top.

[That's so gross. Does someone like that even deserve to be at the Moretti Group?]

I turned off my phone and let out a long breath.

Just last month, Vito had promised his mother he'd take good care of me.

Now my card was frozen and my reputation was nearly ruined.

Vito, if you don't come back soon, your own chief secretary is going to have your wife sleeping on the street.