Chapter 5
The next few days were chaos.
The board launched an investigation.
The police got involved.
Charlotte filed for divorce.
Victoria, bitter and betrayed, handed over everything.
Every text. Every email. Every bank record. Every detail of the embezzlement scheme.
And she admitted—publicly—that she had framed me.
That she had planted the necklace in my desk.
That she had put the hotel receipt in my bag.
That she had sent the anonymous texts to Charlotte.
All to make me the target. All to protect herself and Michael.
And then Michael had betrayed her.
The story spread through the company like wildfire.
People who had avoided me for days started coming to my desk. Apologizing. Saying they should have known better. Saying they never believed it.
I accepted their apologies. But I didn't forget the way they'd looked at me. The way they'd whispered behind my back.
I also didn't forget the slap.
Charlotte called me.
"I want to apologize," she said. "For hitting you. For believing the worst of you. For being part of your humiliation."
"Thank you," I said. "But you weren't the only one at fault."
"I know," she said. "And I want to make it right. Whatever you need. Whatever I can do."
She paused.
"Michael is done. The board is going to fire him. Press charges. Everything. And there's going to be a vacancy. At the top."
I froze.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying," she said, "that the board is looking for someone with integrity. Someone who stood up when everyone else looked away. Someone who was willing to speak the truth even when it was dangerous."
May you like
She paused again.
"They're asking about you, Claire. And I'm telling them the truth. That you're the one who exposed all of this. That you're the one who saved this company."
