Chapter 3

"You have disappointed me completely!"

Inside the corner office, my dad stood with his back to me, his tone devoid of any warmth.

"Dad! Let me explain! Chloe is the one who—"

"I don't care about the details!" He spun around sharply. "A senior associate, run in circles by a first-year intern? Do you have any idea how humiliating this is for the firm's reputation?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off with an impatient flick of his hand.

"You've always wanted to prove you could stand on your own two feet without riding my coattails. I respected that ambition."

"But you think raw legal expertise is everything? Look at you now—completely isolated by the entire office! When it comes to basic interpersonal navigation, you haven't even earned a passing grade!"

"She dragged your name through the mud too!" Furious, I shoved my phone in front of his face. "She's fabricating vile rumors that attack our basic integrity! Do you honestly expect me to smooth that over with 'office politics'?"

He didn't even look at the screen. He shoved my hand down.

"What’s easily seen on the surface is never the whole truth." He looked at me as if I were a hopeless student. "Nora, you need to do a serious post-mortem on yourself. Your maturity level is nowhere near where it needs to be."

"In your current state, you are entirely unfit to handle the Crestview Group file."

A violent tremor ran through my entire body.

That was a multi-billion-dollar corporate merger!

I had worked day and night for an entire year on that deal. My whole book of business for the year depended on it.

"Dad! You can't do this to me!" I cried out, losing my composure.

He ignored me completely and picked up the intercom. "David, step in here for a moment."

Seconds later, senior lawyer David Zhang pushed the door open.

"The Crestview acquisition is being transferred to you. Nora lacks the capacity to manage a file of this scale right now..."

I don't even remember how I walked out of that office.

Behind me, malicious snickers and gloating stares wove an inescapable net around me.

Blank-faced, I walked back to my desk.

Fiona was already there, hurriedly packing up my binders and documents regarding the Crestview transaction.

"Nora," she said, squaring her shoulders with newfound authority. "Mr. Zhang asked me to handle the handoff."

Before I could say a word, a sickeningly sweet voice chimed in.

"Let me give you a hand, Fiona."

Chloe bounced over with a cheerful skip in her step, still clutching her tin of imported cookies.

She affectionately linked her arm through Fiona's and picked up the thickest master binder from the pile.

"Wow, Nora, I really had no idea you did so much work all on your own."

She cradled the heavy file against her chest like a prized trophy.

"Nora, please don't be mad at Managing Partner Vance. I feel genuinely awful that you were taken off the case."

Her tone shifted, dripping with venomous condescension. "Then again, don't worry too much. I'll make sure to assist Mr. Zhang thoroughly on Crestview. As for you... maybe you should focus on sorting out your 'personal baggage' first."

My father refused to grant me justice. The entire firm was waiting to laugh at my downfall. Chloe had practically dragged my reputation through the sewer.

They all thought I had lost.

But I was still Nora Vance. And I still held my bar license.

I immediately pulled up the draft complaint I had prepared for the City Bar Association's Disciplinary Committee and slammed "Send."

The second the email went through, my screen lit up with an anonymous text message.

I opened it, and my pupils constricted sharply.

It was a photograph of an official document bearing the bright red embossed seal of the City Bar Association.

Notice of Formal Inquiry into Allegations of Workplace Harassment and Coercion Against Attorney Nora Vance.

Below the image was a single line of text:

"Chloe Lin submitted a verified complaint against you to the Bar. The Managing Partner just received notice. Watch your back!"

My fingers froze in midair.

Chloe had beaten me to the punch and reported me to the Bar Association first!