Chapter 1

Ainsley Castillo's act of playing the victim totally won over the comments.

[Oh my God! Look what they've driven her to!]

[And she is still so polite to that vixen?]

[Paige Russell, you're inhumane! You've driven your employee to the brink!]

[Lawyers, team up and sue her for abusing her power!]

[She's just jealous! She can't get married herself, so she won't let her employees tie the knot.]

My image as a jealous witch was sealed in an instant. My assistant, Chloe, and a few other employees spoke up to defend me.

"That's not how it is!"

"It's Ainsley's fault."

"Ms. Russell didn't mean it that way."

Their quiet rebuttals got picked up by the mic, and the live chat blew up immediately.

[Did you hear that? She's threatening her employees!]

[Those women are chiming in to back her up.]

[Oh God, this company is terrifying! Full of villains!]

[They have been brainwashed! Still defending her?]

[Is this some kind of cult company?]

My personal phone buzzed like crazy on the desk. The screen flashed with the name of my investor, Gabriele Dodson.

I ignored it, staring at the camera and the flood of online curses. They called me inhumane, crazy, and mentally twisted.

Right in front of millions of viewers, I shut down the live stream.

The screen went black, and the broadcast ended in my total defeat. Ainsley gained the sympathy of the entire internet, while I was labelled as a jealous, gaslighting, and toxic capitalist who abused the employees.

The next day, I had just arrived in the office when the operations director rushed in, her face as pale as a sheet. "Madam, we've got a problem. Our products have been pulled from every platform, citing serious issues with our values. And our partners sent unilateral termination letters."

Her Haven was grinding to a halt, the gravity of the situation hanging in the air.

Suddenly, the office door got kicked open. Gabriele stormed in with a fierce expression, slamming his phone down on my desk.

"Paige Russell!" he roared, jabbing his finger at my nose. "Why did you hang up on me yesterday? Are you out of your mind? For one intern, you're gonna ruin everything for everyone?"

Before I could respond, Vice President Victoria Gray stepped in front of him. "Mr. Dodson, calm down. Paige is the most upright person I know. She must have her reasons."

Gabriele wasn't impressed. "What, you've been brainwashed, too? What kind of perks did she give you? Why is everyone defending her?"

Victoria ignored him and pulled out her phone. Right in front of him, she logged into her verified account and posted: [I stake my reputation to say that Ms. Paige Russell is the best boss ever. She is nothing like what they're saying online.]

My assistant, who had spoken up in the live stream, along with a few women from tech and marketing, all commented under the post.

[Our culture is the best in the industry. No bullying is allowed here.]

[Ms. Russell is great to every one of us.]

[We stand with Ms. Russell!]

The post, along with the comments, shot to trending soon after.