Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 309

The air in the office felt bizarre, with colleagues clustered in groups of two or three, whispering furiously among themselves.

The exact moment Willa pushed open the door and stepped inside, the quiet murmurs vanished in an instant.

Everyone rapidly averted their eyes, scurrying back to their desks to feign productivity. Yet, countless subtle glances continued to relentlessly dart in her direction.

Willa calmly walked over to her desk, set down her bag, and booted up her computer.

The second the screen flickered to life, she noticed an unread email in her inbox. It was from the editor-in-chief, sent precisely at eight o'clock that morning.

As she clicked the email open, her fingers slowly turned ice cold.

It was an official disciplinary notice straight from the Corporate Integrity Division.

[Following a preliminary review, it is suspected that Willa Vance (Employee ID 0842) from your department abused her editorial privileges for personal gain during her interviews with Vanguard Properties, in direct violation of Article 12 of the Corporate Code of Ethics. Effective immediately, she is suspended from all duties and must fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation led by the Corporate Integrity Division.]

Those few short lines caused her brain to violently blank out.

Abusing editorial privileges for personal gain?

"Willa," the editor-in-chief's voice suddenly rang out from behind her.

Willa spun around, meeting his profoundly conflicted gaze.

"Come to my office."

She stood up in silence, following him inside. The door clicked shut, instantly severing the relentless, prying stares from the bullpen.

Before he even sat down, the editor spoke bluntly. "I only just received this notice myself. It's an executive investigation order passed down directly from the Corporate Integrity Division. I had no prior knowledge of this."

"I want to know what exactly I'm being accused of doing," Willa demanded.

"Someone filed a formal, named complaint against you. They claimed that during your liaisons with Julian York, you secretly accepted bribes in exchange for utilizing our editorial feature to whitewash his personal reputation and artificially boost his corporate image."

Willa's brows knit together fiercely. "I did no such thing."

The editor fell silent for a moment before sighing helplessly. "Personally, I believe you, but the Integrity Division only operates on evidence. The whistleblower submitted live photographs of your private meetings with Julian, alongside surveillance screenshots of you walking out of the club clutching a file envelope."

Willa's heart plummeted.

Not this again.

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