Chapter 13
Jake lost his cool completely by the end. He kept throwing accusations at Thea, blaming her for being too difficult because of her past experiences. He acted as if everything was her fault, as if painting himself as the victim would clear his conscience.
Thea stared at him, her eyes wide, feeling like he had just torn open an old wound.
Without thinking, she slapped him hard. Her eyes filled with tears not from pain but deep disappointment. “I’ve never hated
you as much as I do right now. You’ve turned our entire seven years into a joke.”
She had confided her darkest secrets, to him, her nightmares and vulnerabilities, and now he was weaponizing them against her
As Jake stood there, stunned, Thea turned and walked away, her lieart pounding. She composed herself quickly before stepping back into the private room, but she could feel the tension in the air.
Everyone was looking at her with strange, judgmental expressions. “What’s going on? Did something happen?” she asked,confused.
One person sneered. “Look who’s trying to act all high and mighty as the new deputy manager. You called us here to show off and now it’s all come crashing down.”
“Isn’t this the kind of thing people go to jail for? Man, I never thought she’d do something like this,” another person said.
“Talk about love turning into hate. We’re all screwed because of her, added another one.
Just then, Madelyn approached, looking concerned as she grabbed Thea’s hand. “Miss Rowland, maybe you should consider turning yourself in. Don’t worry. We’ll support you. I’ll even tell the police it wasn’t intentional”
Thea jerked her hand away. “What are you even talking about? Let go.
She hadn’t used much force, but Madelyn let out a yelp and fell to the ground dramatically, her eyes brimming with fake
tears.
In an instant. Jake barged into the room, pushing Thea aside as he rushed to help Madelyn up.
Then he turned on Thea, his voice full of rage. “You leaked company secrets, causing tens of millions of dollars in losses. The company is already investigating, and you’re the prime suspect. You’re the one who messed up. Why are you taking it out on Madelyn?”
Still sniffling. Madelyn wiped her tears and said softly, “It’s fine. As long as Miss Rowland calms down, everything will be okay.”
Thea ignored Madelyn’s ridiculous act. She opened the group chat files on her phone, her heart sinking as she read the text
Madelyn wasn’t lying. There had been a serious data leak, and Thea was the prime suspect. The leaked information had come from her computer.
For a moment, Thea felt dizzy, trying to make sense of it all. ‘How could this have happened? It didn’t add up, she wondered.
She wanted to protest, to declare her innocence, but the words wouldn’t come. She glanced around the room, seeing only angry and disgusted faces staring back at her. Her face paled.
Turning to Jake, she asked quietly, “After all the years I’ve spent working at this company, do you really think I’d do something like this?”
Jake’s eyes flickered with hesitation for a brief moment, but the gaze hardened
“Thea, do you even know what they are saying?” he sneered. “You didn’t take money; you made a deal. They agreed to drop out of the Northworen Innovation Park bid, and guess who ended up winning it? Your family’s company.”
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