Chapter 1

The department head I promoted with my own hands sued me the second she got pregnant.

While Linda was threatening suicide on a TikTok livestream, I was in the middle of signing an eight-figure contract.

On video, holding her ultrasound report, she wept inconsolably.

"Sue is jealous because I'm pregnant! She told me the company isn't a charity and won't support useless freeloaders like us!"

In the background played an audio clip of my voice from an old meeting.

"This company isn't a charity."

It was edited completely out of context, but within hours, the video hit over a million likes.

Overnight, I became the internet's public enemy number one—the ultimate toxic female boss.

Yet beneath the anger, a deep, chilling numbness settled over me.

I had personally mentored her, taking her from an intern to department head, granting her bonuses and stock options far beyond what anyone her age could dream of.

Me? Jealous of her?

What did she have that I could possibly envy? Getting to hog the executive bathroom during morning sickness?

That night, our corporate website was hacked.

Bold, black lettering covered the entire homepage.

"Sue drove a pregnant woman to suicide! Give us back our hard-earned money!"

If she wanted to bite the hand that fed her, fine. I would gladly give her spot to someone truly in need.

At four in the morning, my CTO banged on my door, his face pale as a ghost.

"Sue, this is a coordinated attack. We... we can't hold them off."

Almost simultaneously, Linda started another livestream.

She was lying in a hospital bed, wearing an oversized patient gown, looking utterly drained.

Holding up a document to the camera with trembling hands, she displayed the company's official corporate seal stamped in red ink.

"This is the 'Voluntary Waiver of Maternity Leave' that Sue forced me to sign. She told me if I didn't, she’d blackball me from the industry forever."

"She said that if a woman wants to climb the corporate ladder, having babies is out of the question."

The comments section lost its mind.

"What a monster!"

"Forging or forcing a legal agreement is a crime! Sue her!"

"Sue her? She practically owns the city, how could anyone sue her?"

I stared intently at that red seal.

It was real.

The official administrative seal was locked inside the safe in my office.

The only person besides me who had a key was my executive assistant, Lily.

I called Lily immediately, but the line just rang out.

With no other choice, I went live myself to address the allegations.

I held up our company’s maternity benefit policies, our paid leave structure, and the special healthcare stipends we provided for pregnant employees, displaying them line by line to the camera.

"Our company has one of the most comprehensive maternity programs in the tech sector. Every single employee..."

Before I could finish, my livestream was flooded and frozen by bots.

"Die, you vile bitch!"

"Capitalist scum has no heart!"

"You don't deserve to ever be a mother!"

My tech lead shouted from the side, "Sue, they're paid bots! Every single IP address traces back to a server farm overseas!"

Amid the chaos, Linda posted a comment that immediately got pinned to the top.

It was a photo.

In it, I was having coffee with our lead venture capital investor, Richard.

The angle was deliberately angled to make it look like I was throwing myself into Richard's arms.

Her caption read:

"Look, they're already plotting behind closed doors on how to push me out!"

Looking at that picture, my blood turned to ice.

Three days later, our stock price went into freefall. Richard’s phone was ringing off the hook, and our corporate partners scrambled to terminate their contracts.

While I was drowning in damage control, Linda marched into our corporate headquarters, accompanied by three strangers.

They claimed to be volunteers from a "Women's Rights Defense Coalition," shoving phones into my face as they livestreamed.

"We received an anonymous tip about systemic pregnancy discrimination at your firm! We demand to collect evidence right here, right now!"

The man leading the pack shouted at the top of his lungs, his camera lens inches from my nose.

I blocked their path, my voice dead and cold.

"Show me your credentials and a legal warrant, or I will have security escort you out."

Linda pushed her way forward from behind them, cradling her belly with tears welling in her eyes.

"Are you feeling guilty, Sue? Did you already destroy the evidence?"

The moment the words left her mouth, one of the men behind her violently shoved over a six-foot-tall filing cabinet.

CRASH.

Documents, binders, and financial spreadsheets scattered across the floor like confetti.

Screams erupted throughout the office.

In the pandemonium, I dialed 911.

"Hello, 911? We have trespassers vandalizing our office—"

Before I could finish, Linda let out a bloodcurdling scream and collapsed onto the floor.

She clutched her stomach, writhing in agony.

"Ow! She hit me! Sue shoved a pregnant woman!"

Her accomplice immediately panned the camera down onto her.

"Look at this, everyone! Absolute savagery! This is the true face of corporate greed!"

When the police finally arrived, that was the scene that greeted them.

Nothing I said could clear my name.

In the end, citing "disturbing the peace," the police escorted the trespassers out.

After this stunt, my company's reputation was completely in the gutter.