Chapter 1

Laurel swiped her access card once it was denied. She tried again, her hand trembling but it was denied again. The third time, the sound was louder. Behind her, employees slowed, their eyes filled with pity.

The moment Laurel’s access card was denied, the humiliation began to suffocate her. Each failed swipe was not just a rejection of entry but a rejection of her identity as the woman who had built the company’s success. The pitying glances of her employees cut deeper than the mechanical beep of denial. She had poured herself into this firm, and now the board had painted her as negligent, stripping her of everything she had earned.

Fury rose in her chest, hot and sharp. She believed that if she could just speak to Noah, if she could explain, he would clear the misunderstanding. That fragile hope was all she carried as she slipped through the underground parking, reporters swarming outside like vultures.

She tried to reason with the guard her own employee, whose salary she paid but he refused, his loyalty already shifted to the Alpha who had branded her a traitor.

“Miss McKinley,” the security guard said stiffly, “your card is no longer valid. I cannot let you in.”

Laurel froze, staring at him for several seconds. The disbelief in her eyes how could a mere security guard, someone whose salary she paid, now have the audacity to stop the heiress from entering her own company?

Laurel’s voice sharpened. “You cannot? I pay your salary. You work for me. Use your card and open the door.”

The guard shook his head, avoiding her gaze. “I’m sorry, ma’am but the orders are from the board.”

Her fury rose, hot and sharp. “Orders? I built this company. I pay you your salaries and now you deny me entry?”

Before the guard could answer, commotion stirred behind her. Laurel turned and her breath caught. Alpha Noah walked inside the building, his tall frame commanding, his Alpha aura radiating with every step, flanked by bodyguards.

Relief surged in her chest as she ran toward him, her voice cracking with anguish. “Noah! Thank God you’re here. Please, listen to me there’s been a misunderstanding. I can explain everything.”

But as she reached him, his eyes locked on hers, cold and murderous.

“Noah…” she whispered.

His hand moved faster than her words.

Slap!

The sound cracked through the lobby like thunder. Laurel’s head snapped to the side, her hand flying to her cheek, the sting biting sharper than any bruise.

Time stopped as murmurs rose and fell, shoes paused on marble, and everyone turned the spectacle as everyone is fond of a good show. The physical pain was immediate and painful but beneath it a deeper, colder ache throbbed her heart. The knowledge that the man who had promised to protect her had chosen humiliation as his weapon pierced her heart. Her vision blurred at the edges, not from tears so much as from the shock of betrayal made public; every eye on her felt like an accusation, every whisper of a small knife. For a second she stood rooted, then, slow and deliberate, she lifted head, the red imprint on her skin clearly visible as she stared at the man whom she had loved wholeheartedly.

“Noah…” her voice trembled, broken. “Why? Why won’t you listen?”

Noah’s gaze was filled with contempt. “You dare show your face here after the chaos you caused? Millions lost because of your negligence. And now you come running to me as if I will save you?”

Laurel’s knees weakened, but she forced herself upright. “It wasn’t negligence. I was trying to help. Please just hear me out.”

“Enough!” Noah’s voice echoed through the lobby. “You have already caused a scandal. Don’t ever think you can walk back into this company. Go home and reflect on your actions.”

The employees froze, whispers rippling through the crowd. The guard looked away, ashamed. Reporters outside pressed against the glass, cameras flashing.

Laurel’s voice cracked, desperate. “Noah, please… I did everything for this company. Why are you doing this?”

Noah’s lips curled into a sneer. “You are so shameless and you schemed against me with your lover and now you have the audacity to question me.” Alpha Noah’s voice cut through the lobby like a blade, loud and deliberate, every syllable uttered to break her completely.

“But Noah you haven’t even heard my side of the story. I didn’t do anything; you have to listen to me.” Laurel spoke with utter determination. She firmly spoke her mind because she would not be pushed away without a fight, she had suffered so much, but being slandered for something she never did publicly, in front of her employees was intolerable.

“There is nothing to talk about between us. Its better you leave and don’t show me your face again. I don’t want to see your disgusting face anymore.” Noah turned and walked away, not a flicker of remorse on his features, as if she meant nothing to him.

The words struck Laurel like a physical blow. She could not breathe, for a moment she simply stared at his retreating back, disbelief and hurt making her legs tremble. She tried to reason with him. “Please, Noah, listen to me…” Her voice shook with the effort of being heard.

Noah kept walking not even sparing her a glance, as if she were nothing but a nuisance. “Security! Throw her out!” he barked, his command echoing through the lobby as he stepped into the elevator without a backward glance. The room fell into a stunned silence; her employees watched with pity and fear, faces folding into the careful neutrality of people who knew their livelihoods depended on silence.

“Miss McKinley, please don’t make this difficult for us.” A security guard’s voice was firm and resolute. Laurel’s legs felt numb as she walked out, every eye on the lobby was on her. Noah’s words “I don’t want to see your disgusting face anymore" echoed in her mind.

Why had everything gone so wrong? She had poured herself into saving the company; she had helped it rise to its present glory with her own effort. She had seeked a friend’s help in good faith, and now she was branded as a traitor. Who had fed Noah these lies, and why had he chosen to believe them without asking her?

 The moment she stepped outside, chaos erupted. Reporters swarmed forward, microphones thrust at her face, their voices overlapping in a barrage of accusations.

“Mrs. Knight, is it true you were removed from your vice‑CEO position?”

 “Mrs. Knight, did you sabotage the company’s profits?”

“Mrs. Knight, are you having troubles in your marriage?”

Each question was a dagger, cutting deeper than the last. Laurel’s head began to throb, a sharp pain blooming at her temple. She pressed a hand to her forehead, struggling to steady herself as the cameras flashed and the microphones crowded closer.

Her voice cracked, weak but desperate. “Please… move.”

But the reporters pressed harder, their questions pushing at the edge. The world spun around her. She staggered toward her car, each step heavier than the last.

Her vision blurred. The pain in her temple throbbed and before she could reach the car door, darkness swallowed her. Laurel collapsed, her body crumpling to the pavement as the reporters gasped, their microphones still hovering, their cameras still rolling.