Chapter 2

Three days later, Linda dropped a company-wide blast in our Slack channel.

*Emergency department meeting at 2:00 PM. All hands on deck. No excuses.*

A bad feeling settled in the pit of my stomach.

At two sharp, I walked into the conference room. Everyone was already seated in dead silence.

Linda stood by the podium in front of the giant display screen, her expression thunderous.

"We have a crisis," she announced, slamming a blue folder onto the long mahogany table. "Apex Group's confidential client database has been breached. Only three people had access to the master file: myself, Leo Miller, and Nia Sterling."

My stomach dropped.

Leo had been abruptly transferred down to the warehouse logistics team earlier that morning. That left me as the only target in the room.

"It passed through my hands?" I frowned. "I was never given access to the core client files."

"Oh, really?" Linda sneered. "The digital checkout log clearly shows that last Friday at 3:00 PM, the printed master roster was signed out from my office and handed directly to you."

"I never received any confidential rosters."

"Is that so?" Linda shot a glance toward her pet suck-up, Jake.

Jake stood up immediately, marched out to my cubicle, and yanked my desk drawers wide open.

"Hey! Who gave you permission to go through my personal belongings?" I rushed after him to stop him, but Jake had already pulled a thick, staple-bound document from the bottom drawer.

"Found it," Jake called out loudly, walking back and handing it to Linda.

Linda skimmed the cover page, a triumphant smirk tugging at her lips.

"Caught red-handed." She held the document high in the air, parading it around the conference room. "Take a good look, everyone. The missing Apex proprietary data—found tucked away right inside Nia Sterling's desk."

My head pounded. I had never laid eyes on that folder in my life.

"That's not mine! Someone planted it!"

"Not yours? Then why was it under your bag in your locked drawer?" Linda stalked up to me, her index finger almost touching my nose. "You're a thief, Nia. Caught in the act, and you still have the nerve to lie?"

The conference room went dead quiet.

I looked around the table. People were staring at their laptops, their notepads, their shoes. No one looked at me. No one said a word.

"Someone put it there while I was away from my desk," I demanded.

"Who? Me?" Linda's voice went shrill with mock outrage. "If you're going to accuse your manager of framing you, let's see some proof. Got any?"

I didn't. Not right this second.

Seeing my silence, Linda pulled a single sheet of paper from her folder and slapped it against my chest.

"A formal written confession and apology," she commanded. "You're going to write it out, sign it, and read it aloud in front of the entire division."

I looked down at the blank form, then shoved it right back onto the table. "I don't confess to things I didn't do."

Linda slammed her flat palm onto the table with a loud crack.

"Refusing to comply? Perfect. We'll mark you as absent without leave, dock your entire month's pay, and fail your internship evaluation on the spot. Without that sign-off, you don't graduate. You won't even qualify for entry-level retail."

I clenched my jaw, refusing to give her an inch.

I had hidden my identity because I wanted to earn my place without family favoritism. But if this woman was hellbent on destroying me, she was about to learn who held the real power.

Just then, the glass door swung open.

Mark Davis walked in, holding a steaming mug of black coffee. "What's all the commotion?"

Linda's fierce snarl melted into an expression of helpless, fragile innocence. "Mark, thank God you're here. Nia stole the Apex client files. I found them hidden in her desk, but she refuses to sign the reprimand or apologize. We have physical proof, and she's just defying company policy."

Mark looked at me, his eyes cold as ice. He took a slow sip of his coffee.

"Linda is your manager. If she brought this forward publicly, it means the evidence is airtight," Mark said smoothly. "An intern stealing proprietary assets and refusing to show remorse? Linda is doing you a favor by offering you an apology route. Don't be ungrateful."

I looked him dead in the eye. "Mark, I didn't take those files. Someone set me—"

"Enough," Mark cut me off with an impatient wave of his hand. "Sign the paper, or pack your shit and get out. I will personally sign your failing review. An official termination for corporate theft from Vance Global? Let's see which firm in the country will touch your resume after that."

My fists shook with fury. "I won't sign a lie."

Mark's face darkened. "Fine. You want to play tough? You can kiss your paycheck and your career goodbye."