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Lahat ng Kabanata ng Not Dying for Her Lie Again: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

10 Kabanata

Chapter 1

Tyra bit her lip, her eyes turning red."Stella, I just wanted you to come with me. I never said I had to move the boxes."I set my phone down. "You said you wanted me to help move them."Her face went pale."I... I guess I said it wrong.""It's fine." I smiled. "That's why I made sure we followed procedure."She stared at me.Just for a second.Long enough for me to catch the hate in her eyes.Then it was gone.She looked hurt again."Are you still mad because I messed up the proposal before? I know I haven't been as productive since I got pregnant, but I really don't want to hold the team back."My coworker Angela Parker jumped in right away."Tyra, don't overthink it. Stella's probably just trying to look out for you."Another coworker, Blake Molloy, scoffed. "By calling her out in the group chat? Pregnant women deserve some privacy too."I looked at him. "Cool. Then you move the boxes."Blake froze. "I never said I wouldn't."Right then, our admin supervisor, Linda

Chapter 2

When I walked into Conference Room Three, Tyra was curled up on the couch by the window.She looked pale, her eyes swollen like she'd been crying all night.Her husband sat beside her.Eric Luttrell.Last time, he posted my home address online and told everyone I'd killed his baby.My dad went to the bank, desperate for a loan to cover the damages.He had a heart attack right after he left.Later, Eric went live and said, "I just wanted justice for my child. I didn't know her father would die."He didn't know.How convenient.Helen sat at the head of the table, a stack of papers in front of her."Stella, Tyra has filed a serious complaint against you for workplace bullying and abuse of authority."I pulled out a chair and sat down. "Be specific."Tyra burst into tears. "Stella, I really didn't want it to come to this."I looked at her. "Then don't turn it into something it's not."Her sob caught in her throat.Eric slammed a hand on the table. "My wife just had a miscar

Chapter 3

That afternoon, Northstar's anonymous employee forum blew up.The post never used my name.It didn't have to.My department. My project. The overseas assignment. Tyra's pregnancy. The miscarriage.Every detail screamed my name.The comments blew up even faster.I screenshotted everything from the first post to the last.Ten minutes later, I got locked out of the project system.Blake was now listed as lead on the European energy storage grid integration project.My overseas assignment approval was grayed out.I stared at the screen.Nothing.I'd already lived through this once.Last time, I begged them to listen. Begged them to check the cameras. Tried to convince everyone I hadn't pushed her.And all anyone said was,"Tyra wouldn't lie about losing her own baby, would she?"But she would.That evening, Angela brought over my mug.She set it on the corner of my desk and lowered her voice. "Stella, maybe don't leave this in the break room for a few days."I looked up.

Chapter 4

The next morning, my desk was wiped clean.I just stood there.Angela came out of the break room and went pale when she saw me. "I wasn't the one who did it."I looked at her. "Who touched my stuff?"She hesitated. "Everyone's worried the media might show up and say the company doesn't protect pregnant employees, so they temporarily removed anything... controversial."Controversial.My mug.My pens.Even the plant on my desk.Apparently, all of me was controversial now.Blake stepped out of the conference room, looking pissed. "Seriously, Stella? This is what you care about right now? Tyra's in the hospital crying so hard she can barely breathe."I turned to him. "So that gives you the right to mess with my stuff?""I didn't!""Then who did?"He shut up.I pulled everything out of the box, one piece at a time, and put it all back where it belonged.At ten, a company-wide email from Northstar hit my inbox.Subject:[Workplace Ethics and Pregnancy Protection Training]

Chapter 5

The whole auditorium froze.Even the coughing stopped.Then the whispers hit."Who are those guys?""No way. Sugar daddies? Her husband's literally right there.""Eight? Am I reading that right?"Eric went pale.Slowly, he turned to Tyra."What the hell is this?"For the first time, Tyra actually looked scared.But she recovered fast.Tears hit instantly."It's fake! Stella, you made up this disgusting crap just to save yourself?"I ignored her.I opened the first batch of screenshots.Company email.Tyra had written to Donald Kyson, an executive at Evermont Supply:[Mr. Kyson, the baby's checkups have been expensive lately. About that gift you mentioned, I'd rather not run it through company accounts. I'll do my best to bump your score on the evaluation sheet.]His reply:[Got it. Thanks for the help. I'll have my assistant send it tonight.]The second screenshot came from a work messaging app.Tyra had messaged a client's project director:[The baby says you sho

Chapter 6

Helen rushed over. "Enough. This meeting is over."I left the screen up. "Funny. You didn't say that when you were announcing my punishment."She lowered her voice. "Stella, you're dragging the company into this."I looked at her. "You dragged me into it first."Jason didn't move.I pulled up the next batch of evidence."Tyra said I kept her working on the proposal until midnight and insulted her in the break room."Let's check the timeline."First up: my building access log.7:06 p.m.I left Northstar Tower.Next, the parking garage record.7:12.My car left the property.Then my apartment building access and elevator logs.7:58.I got home.And I never left again that night.A few people in the audience suddenly sat a little straighter.I opened the file activity log from our internal portal."This is the proposal Tyra claims I forced her to revise until midnight."Account: Tyra Robb.Device: Her laptop.IP address: Her home Wi-Fi.Editing time: 11:41 p.m. to

Chapter 7

By the time I finished giving my statement, it was already nine.Northstar Tower's glass walls glowed cold behind me.Standing on the steps, I remembered how this night ended last time.Back then, I walked out carrying a cardboard box with security at my side.My access card had been cut in half.My phone was blowing up with hate from strangers.My dad called to ask what was wrong, and I couldn't even get the words out.This time, I still had my access card.Morgan was already on the way.Helen called three times.I ignored every one.The fourth call came from the CEO's assistant."Ms. Bennett, the executive office would like to meet with you tomorrow at ten.""Fine. I want Legal, Compliance, and the head of International there. And I'm recording the whole meeting."A two-second pause."Understood."The next morning, the boardroom was packed.CEO Cameron Hale.General Counsel.Jason.The head of International.And Helen.She looked wrecked, with dark circles under

Chapter 8

The next day, my desk looked normal again.My mug was back.My plant was by the window.The [TO BE SANITIZED] note was gone.Like cleaning my desk could erase the fact they'd all joined the pile-on.Angela stood beside me with a letter in her hand. "Stella, I want to formally apologize."I didn't take it."Go ahead."Her face went red. "I shouldn't have believed everyone else over you. I shouldn't have taken your mug, and I shouldn't have called you aggressive in the group chat.""What else?"She froze.I looked at her. "You told people to stay away from me so they wouldn't get dragged into it."Her eyes filled. "I was scared. I thought anyone close to you might get blamed too."I nodded. "So you protected yourself.""I didn't mean to hurt you.""I know."She started to relax.Then I added, "But that doesn't mean you didn't."She clutched the envelope as tears rolled down her face. "Can we ever go back to how we were?"How we were?She used to bring me coffee when I

Chapter 9

Two weeks later, Eric officially dropped his threat to sue me.Then his lawyer submitted a statement.According to Eric, Tyra had pushed him to contact online news outlets, stir up public outrage, and pressure me into a huge settlement by claiming she was "permanently infertile" and her "baby had died."He handed over their texts too.Tyra had written:[Stella cares more about her reputation than anything.][If we make enough noise, the company will fire her before they even investigate.][She comes from an ordinary family. Scare her enough, and she'll pay.]My fingers went cold.That was how she'd destroyed my family last time.It hadn't been some emotional outburst.She'd planned the whole thing.Morgan petitioned the court for Tyra's full medical records and an independent medical evaluation.This time, Northstar cooperated.The results were clear.Tyra's pregnancy had already stopped developing before the supposed conflict with me.Her records also showed multiple t

Chapter 10

A month before I left the country, I gave my final project presentation.The conference room was packed with execs.The Germany team joined remotely.I walked them through Europe's battery-storage grid rules, battery aging models, peak-versus-off-peak profit strategies, and the risks of launching the Horizon Energy project.After three rounds of questions, the head of the Germany team smiled."Stella, you're really good at handling complicated situations."I smiled back. "Thanks."Nobody knew how far you had to be pushed before you got good at that.The day my equity payout came through, I took my parents out to dinner.Dad took a bite of his lemon-butter trout and grinned, the lines around his eyes deepening."My girl's going to Germany. I'm so proud of you."Mom passed me the bread basket, still fussing."Don't stay up all night working once you get there. Money can wait. Your health comes first."My eyes started to burn.Last time, Dad had collapsed outside the bank wi

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